


Born to Lead

by MentalMassDebation



Series: A Human Weapon [2]
Category: Dark Angel, Escape the Fate, Falling in Reverse, Metallica, My Chemical Romance, Paramore
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ancient Cults, Ancient History, Animal/Human DNA, Assassins, Biological Warfare, Breeding Cults, Child Soldiers, Comedy, Comfort, Cybernetics, Cyberpunk World, Death, Disturbing Ancient Rituals, Drugs, Escape, F/M, Family, Flashbacks, Freak Nation, Friendship, Genetically Empowered, Genetically Engineered, Genetically Flawed, Genetically Perfect, Hate Crimes, Human Lab Rats, Humiliation, Hurt, Kidnapping, Leadership, Love, Love Triangles, Manipulation, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mental Health Issues, Military, Money, Motorcycles, Multi, Mutants, Near Future, Perfect Soldiers, Project Manticore, Romance, Sacrifice, Saving Mankind, Saving Mutantkind, Seattle Space Needle, Secret Identity, Sexual Content, Some Disturbing Scenes, Super Soldiers, Supernatural Elements, Terminal City, Torture, Trangenics, True Love, Underground Journalism, Violence, bad language, human weapons, scientific experiments, secret government agencies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-03
Updated: 2014-06-09
Packaged: 2018-02-03 07:52:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 45
Words: 56,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1736999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MentalMassDebation/pseuds/MentalMassDebation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gabby glanced up at her old friend, not even bothering to hide her glum expression. "I just want her back home. Where ever the fuck my boo is..."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> And here is the promised sequel.
> 
> Enjoy! ;)
> 
> And thank you for reading! (:

[[5 YEARS LATER.]]

Since the early 1990's, billions of Americans' tax dollars have been diverted from legitimate government programs to fund secret experiments in genetic engineering.

This covert operation is known Project Monticora. It's goal is create the perfect soldier, genetically enhanced for super strength, agility, speed and intelligence.

These children are subjected to relentless training and propaganda from the moment they are able to talk and walk.

And in the winter of 2007, thirteen of these children managed to escape from a secret facility in Gillette, Wyoming. During the time after, in the following years, some of them were captured; some of them were tortured; and some gave their lives fighting for their siblings and for their freedom...

"...And ever since I began these cable hacks, Project Monticora has consolidated its operations to another secret location..." Ryan stared vacantly at computer screen in front of him, his voice sounding just as vacant and tired. "I WILL find it..." He stated with a little more conviction in his tone. "And the people responsible for these heinous crimes WILL be brought to justice..." He sighed, running a hand over his face as he glared at the reflection of his eyes on the computer screen glaring back at him. "This has been a steaming video bulletin. Peace out." He mumbled before leaning forward and turning the camera off...

...As he had been for the passed few hours and well into the night, Jacky had been sprawled out over his bed in nothing, but his underpants. His usual tidy bedroom was a complete mess with clothes and empty beers or Dorito packets.

The dark bags under his dull blue orbs were proof of his lack of sleep, though, he'd tried countless times. Instead, in the end, he settled for staring at his laptop screen, staring at the still-frame photo of Spencer's slightly blurred face. It was just a pause on the footage of that fateful night, but it was all he had left of her...

...Derek was beyond tired of waiting. Waiting was all he ever did in this lousy job of his. He didn't even know why he took such pride in his business, maybe it was because it was the only thing he had, the only thing that couldn't be taken away from him. It was something he had worked for by himself. "Oh, oh, finally!" He snapped, glaring in frustration.

Ronnie stared blankly back at his boss, clearly not fazed by how busy they were, as usual. "I was deployed in the field." He stated smugly.

Derek rolled his eyes, clearly not believing him. He'd heard that one before, too. "Yeah, right. More like deployed in bed." He muttered under his breath. "Hot run -- Cashmere and Swanson." He said, pulling the small parcel out from under his arm and holding it out to his employee.

Ronnie shot him a rather sour look. "Sector 4!?" He squeaked, obviously not happy. "I'm not going all the way back out there. It's raining, dude." He stated in a 'duh' voice.

Derek's eyes widened in shock. "It IS!?" He asked with a small gasp. "Is it REALLY raining in SEATTLE!?" He asked, clearly mocking the younger man. "Stop the presses!" He chimed, waving his hands about dramatically.

Ronnie glared at him before letting out a defeated huff. He snatched the package from his boss and then quickly made his way over to his locker. "Uh, what the fuck do you think you're doing?" He asked, glaring over at the guy beside him.

The guy stared up at the taller man, suddenly looking rather intimidated. "Boss told me to pick a locker. H-he said t-this one was free..." He stammered slightly, trying to get his words out as quickly as possible.

Ronnie sighed, deciding to take it easy on the new guy, but not too easy. "Well, it AIN'T. Try the next row." He said, shooting the rookie a pointed look.

The guy nodded, quickly gathering his things and turning away.

"Here -- take this, too." Ronnie added, quickly palming the package over to the newbie, too.

The guy quickly swiped the package from him before shuffling off.

Ronnie reached over to the locker door and closed it softly. He glanced up, seeing where Spencer had carved her name across the rusty red metal and smiled slightly.

"Yo, Ronnie!" Craig chirped as he sauntered over with Original Gabby following slowly behind him.

"Hey, guys." Ronnie greeted, forcing a friendly smile.

"You okay, man?" Craig asked, shooting his friend a look of concern.

Ronnie forced a reassuring smile and nodded limply. "Yeah, I'm good. Just..." He sighed quietly, trailing off as he glanced back up to his best friend's empty locker.

Craig glanced over at the locker and then nodded in realisation. Ever the slowest, he was. But he got there eventually. "Missing our little Speedy gal?" He chirped, shooting his friend an understanding look.

Ronnie smiled softly in amusement as his dim-witted friend and nodded in response. "How you holding up, O.G.?" He asked, eyeing the unusually quiet woman.

Gabby glanced up at her old friend, not even bothering to hide her glum expression. "I just want her back home. Where ever the fuck my boo is..."

...Spencer growled in anger and she leaped back up onto her feet. She threw a fist at the older male X-5 soldier, glaring in frustration when he dodged her once again.

The male X-5 grabbed her wrist when she tried to punch him again and then shoved her back onto the large rubber matt underneath them. "What's the matter, 457? STILL recuperating?" He sneered with a smug smirk as he held her down. "They must've given you a lousy heart."

"Bite me!" Spencer snarled back up at him through gritted teeth.

The loud familiar shrill sound of the drill bell finally went off, signalling the end of training sessions.

"457!" The T.A.C. leader called out, waving her over. "The Director wants to see you."

Spencer sighed in annoyance, shooting the other X-5 a glare before hopping back to her feet and following after the T.A.C. leader.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Kiss my transgenic ASS!" Spencer snapped back, smacking her fist against the reinforced glass.

Spencer didn't know what the little redhead wanted with her this time, but she still didn't care. She would never truly be a part of Monticora again. In fact, she would die first. Which, she already had. And she still wasn't willing. She would rather die again.

"State your designation." Williams ordered with a small smile of amusement. She stood in front of the X-5, their eyes almost level. Though, Williams was an inch or so shorter, even in her black Pumps.

Like she had done so many times as a child, Spencer stood to attention in front of her so-called director, her shoulders back, her chin raised and her hands clasped behind her back. After 5 years of being stuck back in this shithole, the transgenic's now straight, dark chocolate brown hair had grown down to her elbows and had lost its usual curl. Her feet were clad with the usual black, steal-toe-capped boots, her legs covered in the light gray camouflage pants and her tightly fitted gray t-shirt was tucked in neatly.

Williams smirked slightly to herself when she saw the hesitation flash in the X-5's dark brown orbs. "State your designation."

Spencer gritted her teeth slightly as her mind briefly flashed back to the first few days of being back in this horrid place. She could remember being locked down in the confined space embedded into the lab wall, the mirror-window in front of her as she crouched down...

...Williams stared over at the incredibly stubborn X-5 female.

Spencer stared into the mirror, glaring at her own reflection. She knew Williams was watching her and she didn't care. She was never going to be hers. EVER.

Williams pressed the button on the microphone before repeating her order. "State your designation."

"My name is SPENCER!" The X-5 roared back, glaring blindly, yet still darkly back.

Williams sighed and nodded at the lab tech sitting at the control panel beside her.

The lab tech nodded back and flipped the switch.

Spencer let out a frustrated growl as the ceiling of the little cubbyhole she was trapped in then slowly began to ascend down on her head. She crouched down further, but she still wasn't willing to give in.

Williams pressed the button again. "State your designation." She ordered again, her voice as calm as ever.

"Kiss my transgenic ASS!" Spencer snapped back, smacking her fist against the reinforced glass.

Williams smirked to herself. Even if she was annoyed with how stubborn the girl was, she still admired the girl's courage, her willingness to still fight, even when she'd clearly lost her freedom. Williams gave another nod to the technician.

Once more, the lab tech reached over to flip the switch.

Spencer let out another growl of frustration as the ceiling came down a little more. By now, the transgenic was forced to curl up into a ball as she banged defiantly against the reinforced glass again. There was no way she would ever tell this red-headed bitch anything. And Spencer knew she could take any torture thrown her way, as long as Jacky and Ryan and her other siblings left on the outside were still free and safe. It was a price she was willing to pay. And it's not as if she hadn't died for them already. She would more than happily go through her death again if it meant keeping her loved ones safe.

Williams watched the defiant transgenic glaring blinding through the one-sided mirrored glass back at her before turning back to the lab tech. "How long can a female X-5 last without any food or water?" She asked, wearing a genuinely intrigued expression.

The lab tech sighed sadly, knowing what his boss was hinting towards. "18 days, maybe." He replied, trying to keep his emotions at bay. He knew what he was signing up for when he agreed to take this job, 8 years ago. Although, he still wasn't completely used to seeing some of the terrible things he'd seen through those years. And to be honest, he didn't think he ever would be. But he needed the money and the money was certainly very good.

Williams sighed and nodded before deciding. If it had been any other X-5, she wouldn't have even considered her decision. But she knew how special this particular X-5 was and she wanted to put her knowledge to the test. "Call me in a month." She ordered before finally leaving the room...

...Spencer's jaw tightened as her mind flashed back to the present, where the red-headed bitch was still standing in front of her, waiting for her to state her God damn designation. "X-5-457, ma'am!"

Williams stared at the transgenic for a few moments and then smirked to herself, her green orbs lighting up in pure amusement. "Nah, you don't fool me. I know that you're just playing along."

Spencer fought back the urge to spout out a quick and witty comeback, like she had been doing for the last 5 years. And it was torture. When she was a child, she'd always been too afraid to even think of speaking back to one of her Commanders, but things were a lot different now. SHE was different now. Back then, this kind of life was all she knew, but now, now she knew what was really beyond that fence.

Williams noticed the anger still lingering in the transgenic's dark chocolate brown orbs and her smirk widened slightly. "C'mon," She chirped, sauntering towards her office door. "I wanna show you something."

Spencer reluctantly followed after the petite redhead. She walked a few paces behind, following her down the narrow corridor and into another small room. She slowly shuffled into the room behind the redhead and followed her over to the back wall of the examination room.

Williams stood in front of the wall just as it slid slowly open to reveal a large window.

Spencer's eyes widened slightly as they landed on the young man strapped spread-eagle to a large metal gurney. Her eyes drifted over to the many machines surrounding the poor guy, his chest bearing a large scar that ran right down the center of his sickly and pale flesh. Her eyes then darted up to his face, where only his familiar ocean green orbs could be seen behind the large plastic mask covering his nose and mouth. Her heart began to race, her eyes widening all the more when those pretty green orbs settled on her own pained browns orbs.

Williams glanced between the two siblings and smiled fondly. "Your brother; Zack." She confirmed, knowing exactly what the transgenic girl was thinking. "He has been VERY useful to us. His liver and kidneys went to a couple of X-5s wounded on a mission, 2 years ago. And his heart, of course, as YOU know, went to you."

Spencer wasn't even listening to the redhead anymore. Her eyes still glued to her big brothers as they began to water slightly...

"...Promise me you will fight them, Spencer..."

"...X-5-599..."

"...X-5-457, I've got a heart for you..."

...Spencer jumped slightly at the sound of the gunshot ringing loud and clear in her mind. She blinked rapidly, willing herself to forget the memory of her big brother shooting himself in the head and finally forced herself to turn away from him. She couldn't bare to see him like this and if she could, she would have killed him herself, then and there. And she would have known that he would have thanked her for it, if he could.

Williams sighed sadly as the wall began to slide back along, hiding the glass and the broke transgenic male back up. "I wanted to give you a chance to say your last goodbyes to him."

Spencer glanced over at her, looking both confused and curious.

"He's being moved to another facility in the morning." Williams explained, shooting the transgenic a sympathetic expression. "We have some interesting plans for him there... But one thing IS for certain, though; YOU are the reason he ended up like this." She added that last part with a rather wicked smirk.

Spencer simply stared blankly back at her. She wanted so badly to just reach out and snap this bitch's neck before she even knew what hit her. But Spencer already had a plan. And she didn't want to give the snootyass redhead bitch the satisfaction of reacting to her taunts. She knew what the redhead was trying to do, trying to make her feel like she was less than she really was, trying to weaken her mind until it finally cracked. But Spencer was NEVER going to let that happen. She almost felt sorry for Williams, thinking that Spencer seeing her brother like that would make her give in, when it only made her want to fight harder.

Williams' smirk widened as she moved to stand right in front of the transgenic once again. "Don't you see, 457? You are poison. You destroy EVERYTHING you love. Your brother; Zack. Your brother; Jake. Your sister; Valary."

Spencer's jaw tightened slightly at the mention of her big sister. 'YOU'RE the one who killed Valary!' She thought bitterly, but somehow managed to control her boiling rage.

"And Ryan Eyes Only." Williams added with a knowing, smug smirk.

Spencer felt somewhere between surprised and incredibly concerned. However, she still managed to keep a straight expression. 'Great. Now Ryan's in the shit as well, 'cause she thinks Jacky's Eyes Only... Ugh. Could my life suck any more right now?'

"Now, I KNOW that you were having some kind of relationship with him," Williams stated, her smirk growing wider once more and her eyes lighting up in amusement. "And I KNOW that you're hanging onto the idea that you're gonna see him again," She stated with a knowing smile. "But that's NEVER gonna happen, sweetiepie." She chimed lightly, though, while wearing a rather serious expression.

'Pff! That's what YOU think.' Spencer thought bitterly, though, while still managing to keep her poker-face.

"He thinks that you're dead." Williams told her. "Which is WHY he is causing so much fricking trouble for us." She added with an irritated look.

Spencer bit back a smug smirk upon hearing that.

"Which is why we ARE going to find him." Williams concluded.

This time, Spencer didn't even bother to hide her smug smirk. "You'll NEVER find him." She stated boldly. She knew Jacky and Ryan. Jacky was smart enough to help her outsmart Hetfield. Hell, Jacky was sometimes even smarter than Spencer; who happened to be intellectually genetically enhanced on almost all levels known to mankind. And so, she was confident in his abilities to stay under the radar. After all, he and Ryan had been doing just fine long before she'd ever met either of them.

Williams smirked smugly back. "And when we DO find him; we're gonna have YOU kill him, whether you want to or not."

Spencer didn't bother to hide her glare this time. Although, she at least managed to hold her tongue. 'I miss Hetfield already.'

"And then, 457," Williams said, her smirk widening from ear to ear. "Then, you will have NOTHING left, and then, you will FINALLY belong to me, completely."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Spencer..." She muttered defiantly to herself before hacking roughly away at the cement once again. "My name is SPENCER..."

A lot of things had changed since Spencer was last here. For one thing; she never used to have to share a cell by herself. She'd always been in a large, dorm sort of room with the rest of her class of X-5s, her siblings. But she hadn't seen any familiar faces and she put that down to Williams' doing. Another reason for her to snap the red-headed bitch's pale little neck.

For the last hour and a half, Spencer had been locked in her single, dimly-lit cell. It was immaculate and clean, but still a cell, nonetheless. And the single bunk she'd been laying on top of wasn't too comfortable either, but still, she'd slept in worse places, so she couldn't really complain. Spencer continued to lay there, not moving a muscle as she stared up at the gray ceiling. She ignored the distant footsteps of the guard coming down the corridor and ignored him when he yelled out.

"Light outs!"

Spencer finally glanced up over to the metal door of her cell when the guard open the small flap and peered inside. Though, she didn't bother speaking.

"Lights out, 457." He told her before sliding the flap closed and walking on to the next cell.

Spencer let out a bored huff when the dim lights in her cell finally blinked off. But she was thankful when her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, her cat-like vision tinting to a bright greeny-blue colour instead. She listened as the guards footsteps grew quieter, the further away he got and waited a couple more minutes until she could no longer hear him at all. Alone again, Spencer hauled herself up to her boot-clad feet and folded her bunk quietly up, using the thin chains to anchor it up. She reached out for the bottom of her bunk and removed a hidden piece of scrap iron and knelt down beside her folded bunk. And as she had been doing for the past few couple of weeks, she began to use the makeshift tool to saw away at the slithers of cement between the large gray bricks under her bunk.

After a few more minutes of sawing away and not getting all that far, Spencer paused for a moment to steel herself. "Spencer..." She muttered defiantly to herself before hacking roughly away at the cement once again. "My name is SPENCER..."

...Jacky didn't know how long he had been sitting at his desk, staring down at the papers in front of him for, but he was certain it had been a few hours. He knew he was tired, he hadn't slept for almost two days now, but he still felt too wired to even think about closing his eyes and nodding off.

There was a soft, feminine chuckle from the open doorway behind him, causing him to glance up.

"Oh, hey, Tessa." Jacky greeted her with a small smile before turning back to the files in front of him.

Tessa smiled to herself, shaking her head slightly as she sauntered slowly over to him. "You really thought you were gonna get into the file room pretending to be a vet?" She asked, her clear blue orbs lighting up in pure amusement. She stood beside him, leaning casually back against his desk and staring down at him.

Jacky shrugged lazily. "I took a shot."

Tessa grinned slyly. "So did I." She said, giggling at the memory.

Jacky managed to chuckle at that, finally tearing his baby blue orbs away from the jumbled papers. "I appreciate you guys coming along and helping me out." He said, shooting her a grateful smile.

Tessa smiled brightly in return, her cheeks blushing slightly. "Nah, it was nothing." She stated rather bashfully. "You got what you needed and we got the chance to finally make our point. This town's gonna think twice before they try to shake the people down again." She said, wearing a triumphant grin.

Jacky simply smiled and nodded before glancing back down at the map on one of the many papers littering his desk. "This is Project Monticora's Wyoming facility. It's gotta be. Requisitions don't add up otherwise." He mumbled, wearing a troubled frown.

Tessa turned around and glanced down at the map, too. "Think they're running their budget through the V.A.'s books?" She suggested. "Trying to cover up their tracks or something?" She asked, glancing over at him.

Jacky sighed heavily, leaning back in his seat. "If I can follow the money trail, maybe I can find the main facility." He said, though he sounded more hopeful than anything else.

Tessa frowned. "Jacky, how many jobs do you think we've done for Ryan in the last three years?" She asked with a curious glint in her eyes.

Jacky glanced curiously back up at her. "I don't know. Why?"

"Well, it's just... I've never seen you get so caught up in an assignment before." Tessa said, finally managing to voice her thoughts. He always made her so nervous.

Jacky sighed heavily again, his eyes averting to his lap. "It's not an assignment." He told her, his voice low. "Ryan is taking on Project Monticora as a favour to me." He explained simply, glancing back up at her after quickly re-collecting himself.

"You're messing with some pretty powerful people, here, Jacks." Tessa warned, her voice growing as concerned as her expression.

Jacky shrugged. "I don't care what happens to me anymore." He admitted, his voice as glum as his dull orbs.

Tessa frowned deeply. She couldn't deny that it ached her heart to see him hurting like this, but she knew that there was only one person who could make it better. And it wasn't her. "In one of his cable hacks, Ryan said some of these kids escaped back in '07." She pointed out, sounding rather wary. "You knew one of them. Didn't you?" She asked, her voice timid as she eyed him cautiously.

Jacky hesitated for a few moments, clearly caught off guard. Again, he managed to quickly compose himself before replying. "Her name was Spencer." He uttered the name gently, a small smile trying to tug at the corners of his lips.

Tessa nodded slowly, finally understanding. "They killed her... Didn't they?" She asked, her voice soft and her chest still aching for the broken man.

Jacky nodded, his eyes burning holes into his computer screen. "I watched her die..." He murmured. "But the crazy thing is that I still can't believe she's really gone... I know it sounds stupid, but I still feel like she's alive and out there somewhere."


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...Spencer's eyes widened in pure shock as she watched the door shut behind the familiar X-5 standing in her cell. "Jake?" She mumbled, her heart racing.

In one of the many courtyards, Spencer was stood to attention in line with all the other X-5s as they waited for inspection from their drill sergeant.

"THOSE BOOTS LOOK LIKE THEY'VE BEEN SHINED WITH A BAG OF SHIT, SOLDIER!" The drill sergeant stood in front of one of the younger male X-5s, shouting right in the poor teenager's quivering face. "DON'T YOU HAVE ANY RESPECT FOR YOURSELF!? OR FOR THE UNIT THAT YOU REPRESENT!?"

"S-sorry, s-sir!" The young male transgenic stammered out with a whimper.

"Take him to isolation!" The drill sergeant ordered, glancing towards his second in command.

The other guard nodded before marching over to the X-5. He grabbed the teen roughly by the elbow and then dragged him off back towards the building.

Spencer forced herself to ignore her angry emotions as her mind flashed back and forth. She could remember ducking her head down just a little, just enough to see her big brother; Jack being dragged off after falling out of line and seizing violently. Before the guard caught her, anyway...

"...Eyes front!"

"EYES FRONT!"

Spencer snapped back to reality, focussing her gaze ahead...

...Later that night, as usual, Spencer was laying back in her bunk and waiting for the lights to go out so that she continue with her attempt to escape. Again. She'd done it once before. And she was just a kid then. Although, she had help from her siblings. But she had faith in her abilities and faith in herself. As the transgenic waited, her mind began to flash back to the last few happy moments she'd had before the night when it all went sideways...

...Jacky smiled brightly up at her. "Happy anniversary, Spencer." He whispered, slowly leaning forward and placing a chaste kiss to her lips...

...Jacky mustered up the best smile he could as he reached out and ran his fingers through her soft curls. "Just come back..."

...Spencer slowly fell back to the present with a sad little sigh when she heard the guard stalking down the corridors. However, this time, she could hear two sets of footsteps. She sat up immediately when she heard her door being unlocked and swung her legs around to sit at the edge of her bunk. She glanced curiously over at the door as it opened slowly. Her eyes then widened at the sight before her, her mind flashing back briefly...

...Jake smirked, the realisation finally settling on his pretty face as he glanced back at his long lost little sister. "Spencer..."

...Spencer's eyes widened in pure shock as she watched the door shut behind the familiar X-5 standing in her cell. "Jake?" She mumbled, her heart racing.

The X-5 shot her a completely confused look. "What?"

Spencer quickly snapped out of her stupor, realising who this person was; this person wearing her dead brother's face. "N-nothing." She mumbled with a lazy shrug as she tried to compose herself. "You just look like someone I used to know." She explained when he shot her another look on confusion.

"Well, my designation's 494." He replied casually. He seemed very confidant in himself, even for a transgenic. And there was a certain air of arrogance about him, too.

Spencer nodded in acknowledgement as she slowly rose to her feet. "His was 493." She explained as she blatantly sized him up and glanced him up and down, clearly not pleased. "You must be one of his clones." She added with a scoff.

"493?" 494 asked, seeming slightly amused. "You mean your fellow traitor, turned psycho." He taunted.

"And what'd YOU know about it!?" Spencer snapped, shooting him a glare.

494 glared back down at her, his face hovering inches above her own. "I know that because of him, I had to 11 months in psy-ops. They wanted to make sure that it wasn't a genetic anomaly." He sneered. "Looks like 13 years out in the big, bad world finally got to him, huh." He added with a smug grin.

Spencer held her glare and held her ground as she stood in front of the older transgenic. She wasn't afraid of this douche. "It was THIS place that got to him." She stated in a snooty tone.

494 simply rolled his eyes before taking a step back. "Whatever." He muttered in a bored tone. "Anyway, let's just get this over with." He said as he lifted his shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor.

Spencer's eyes widened slightly as he then reached for his belt. "What the shit are you doing!?" She hissed, glaring at him again.

494 paused and glanced back up at her. "We've been paired off." He explained. "I'm your breeding partner."

"My WHAT!?" Spencer barked, looking completely mortified. 'Well, Monticora's DEFINITELY gotten it's swerve on since my day...'

494 paused once again with a bored sigh. "We're supposed to copulate every night until you're pregnant." He explained, hoping she would understand.

"That's fucking sick!" Spencer exclaimed, looking even more horrified. There was no damn way she was going to participate in this shit. No matter what the punishment was.

494 rolled his eyes again. "Yeah, well, it's your own stupid fault." He told her, shooting her another glare. "If you and your little Rugrat brothers and sisters hadn't blown up the damn D.N.A .lab, They'd still be whipping up embryos and putting them into paid surrogates. So, thanks for that, by the way."

Spencer rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She replied with a mocking smirk.

494 glared back at her as he finally removed his belt and tossed it to the floor. "Take off your clothes." He ordered, his voice low, but stern. He didn't even bother to look at her as he began to unzip his camouflage pants.

Spencer shot him another glare, her eyes darkening considerably. "Get the fuck outta my cell before I kick your ass." She retorted, mirroring his tone.

494 let out a tired sigh as he finally glanced back up to her. "Look, I've got orders, okay? We ALL have." He said, trying the reasoning approach. He didn't want this any more than she did and he wasn't willing to force her either. But then again, he wasn't willing to be punished because of her stubborn ass either.

Spencer instantly lifted her leg and kicked the X-5 in the chest as hard as she could.

494 went flying back, his back slamming hard into the metal door of her cell. He gasped slightly, trying to take back his breath. "What the fuck was THAT!?" He growled, glaring over at her once again.

Spencer shot him another smug smirk. "The only kinda physical contact you and I are EVER gonna have."

494 rolled his eyes again, but sighed in defeat before reaching down for his belt. "Y'know, this isn't exactly a plum assignment for me either. I mean, you're hott, sure, but this is just barbaric! You've spent half of your life out there, in a world of filth and degradation." He rambled on, shooting her a look of disgust. "I could CATCH something." He added with a taunting smirk as he pulled his shirt back over his head.

Spencer rolled her eyes, shooting him a bored look. "Whatever you need to tell yourself. Just as long as we understand each other." She told him with a bittersweet smile.

"Fine." 494 nodded, smirking in amusement. "Don't 'freak out' on me." He joked.

Spencer arched a brow, surprised at his knowledge of the 'outside world' slang.

494 smiled knowingly. "I took Common Verbal Usage when I got cleared for my solo missions." He explained simply.

Spencer shot him a sour look. "Oh, you mean your assassination assignments?" She asked, her tone dripping with bitter sarcasm.

494 rolled his eyes again, but couldn't help smirking in amusement again. She was as irritating as she was beautiful and kind of funny, too. At least. It could have been worse, anyway. "Hey, it's just my job, okay? So, if you're gonna 'bust my chops' about it, go right ahead." He replied, shooting her a slightly offended look.

Spencer simply shot him a rather withering expression in response.

494 sighed. "Look, I'm gonna be outta here in the next 15 minutes -- we get a half hour every night for a week before they ask for a report." He explained, shooting a look of understanding. "And then you'll be rid of me for the rest of the night, okay, 457?"

"My name is Spencer."

494 rolled his eyes, smiling at her in amusement again. "Whatever you say." He said, clearly humouring her.

"You should have a name, too." Spencer stated as she fought the urge to punch that smug smirk from his face.

494 chuckled lightly. "I told you; my designation's 494." He reminded.

Spencer smirked. "Well, it doesn't suit you." Her smirk widened slightly when he arched a brow at her, looking rather intrigued now. "Hmm. I'm gonna call you... 'Alec'."

"'Alec'?" 494 asked, looking highly amused. Although, he had to admit, he kind of liked it.

"As in 'smart alec'." Spencer explained, still smirking.

Alec thought it over for all of a few second before nodding in approval. "Yeah. Okay. I can live with that."

Spencer shot him a smug look. "Good. 'Cause my second choice was 'Dick'."

Alec arched a brow at her and was about to reply until he was rudely interrupted by the guard opening the metal door of the cell.

"494, time to go." The guard said, shooting him a stern look.

Alec nodded over at the guard. He sauntered over to the open door and paused to shoot the female X-5 one last smirk for the night. "See ya around..." He purred. "SPENCERRR."


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec shot her a small, but grateful smile before joining her, his back leaning against the wall, like her. "So... Still NO sex tonight, right?"

As the days always seemed to, the next night played out mostly the same way for Spencer and a half hour before the lights went out, she was once again joined in her cell by her newly assigned 'breeding partner.' One thing Spencer knew for certain, though, was that this was Williams doing -- having some guy with the face of her dead brother just waltz into her cell and try it on with her. And it was just another reason (of many) that Spencer had been adding to a list over the past 5 years. Just another reason to want to snap the red-headed bitch's pale, little neck.

"Evening, gorgeous." 494 -- 'Alec' gave her a cheerful greeting as he sauntered cockily into her cell, the door heavy, reinforced metal door closing slowly back up behind him.

Spencer shot him a sour look as she slowly sat up on her bunk.

Alec caught her expression immediately and shot her a humorous little grin in return. "I know, I know." He drawled. "You're name's 'Spencer'." In the two days that he'd known her, he already found that he enjoyed teasing her. It was just for fun and he didn't mean anything by it, not really. But she was just too easy to wind up. Besides, he figured that she wasn't all bad. Sure, she was extremely attractive, even for an X-5, but he also enjoyed her witty banter with him. Well, what he took as banter, when really, he knew she wanted to beat the shit out of him whenever she shot him that cute little glare of hers. And the fact that she wasn't a mindless robot, like most of the other transgenics in this damn place DID make things a little more interesting for him.

Spencer merely rolled her eyes, not even bothering to think of a quirky comeback. She let out a tired sigh and pushed herself along the bunk to make room for him to sit. She sat back, leaning against the wall, her thoughts wandering back to Jacky. God, she missed him so fucking much. She missed Gabby, too. And Ronnie. And Ryan, who'd she grown rather close to. Hell, she even missed Craig. And even Derek. God, she missed Derek's 'bip, bip, bips', as much as she still hated whenever those words flew passed his lips. 'How the heck is that even possible?' She thought with a small smile twitching at the corners of her lips.

Alec shot her a small, but grateful smile before joining her, his back leaning against the wall, like her. "So... Still NO sex tonight, right?" He piped up, shooting her a curious expression.

Spencer slowly turned her head to face him, shooting him a pointed glare. "Or ANY other night... EVER." She replied, her voice as calm as her entire exterior.

Alec nodded, holding up his hands in surrender. "Right, no, of course... I was just checking. Can't blame a guy for trying, though." He added that last part with a small, but amused smirk. Although, he was only half joking there.

Once again, Spencer simply rolled her eyes in response before turning her bored gaze back to the miserably gray wall opposite the bunk. After another couple of minutes, both the X-5s' heads snapped up towards the door upon hearing the sound of approaching footsteps. Another few seconds passed before the footsteps stopped right outside Spencer's cell. The small flap then slide open and Spencer noticed it was a different guard than usual.

"He's just reading me love poetry. Y'know, to get me 'in the mood.'" Spencer told the guard, not even bothering to cover her disdain.

Both males, human and transgenic smirked widely in amusement at her words.

"494," The guard said, glancing to the male X-5. "You got something for me?" He asked, arching an expectant brow.

Spencer glanced curiously between the males, silently drawing her own conclusions.

Alec smirked and nodded before rising to his feet and sauntering towards the cell door. He reached into his trouser pockets, pulling out a couple of large cigars before handing them over.

The guard grinned widely, reaching a hand through the small open flap.

Alec took the few 50 dollar bills out of the guards hand before handing over the cigars.

Spencer arched a brow as she continued to watch quietly.

"Oh, do me a favour?" Alec piped up, reaching into his pocket and producing a large 60-pack of Marlborough cigarettes. "Give these to Victor. Tell him he can pay me later." He said, handing the box over.

The guard reached a hand in again, taking the cigarettes. "No problem." He nodded.

"Thank you, my friend." Alec chirped, shooting him a cheesy grin.

The guard rolled his eyes, but smirked in amusement. "You got another 17 minutes in here." He reminded before closing the flap back up.

Spencer continued to watch the other X-5 pulling out his wallet and arched both her brows when she noticed how fat it was. Seriously, he could barely even close the damn thing.

Alec finally turned back to face her and smirked smugly when he realised she'd been watching him. "He's got a thing for those stupid vitamins They make us take ever damn morning." He explained as he shoved his wallet back into his pocket.

Spencer smirked slightly. "Whatever." She shrugged casually. "I'm not even gonna bother asking. So don't sweat it." She REALLY didn't care.

Alec's smirk widened as he flopped down on the bunk beside her. "Well, I got a few things working for me in here, it's true." He admitted. Though, he sounded rather proud of himself.

Spencer smirked back. "More like all ten of dirty little digits in every dirty little pie."

Alec chuckled. "Hey, guy's gotta make a living somehow. Gotta have luxuries."

Spencer's smirk widened. He reminder her of herself, back when she didn't care about anyone. Back when she was free...

...For the last 5 years, Hetfield had been on the run, while trying his very best to stay under Their radar. And now he knew just how his kids felt when he'd hunted them down, relentlessly. But a lot had changed since that fateful night. And now, he was just as much of a target for Them -- to HER as his kids were. Whoever was still left out here in the wilderness, anyway. But thankfully, he was the one who had trained his kids and it had paid off. Well, mostly. At least there were still a few of them left who were still free. Whatever freedom could come of their constant on-the-run lifestyle, anyway.

Hetfield jumped slightly when the street payphone began to let out a shrill ringing sound. That was another new thing now; he was so jumpy. He sighed tiredly, quickly composing him and glanced warily around the empty back-alley before snatching the phone up. "Hetfield." He grunted.

"Jim. This is Hammett... It's been 5 years. You're a hard man to track down."

Hetfield gritted his teeth, trying to control his anger before replying to his so-called friend. "Well, I try to avoid people who are trying to kill me..."

...Williams shot Hammett a pointed look, clearly wanting him to hurry the conversation along.

Hammett nodded reluctantly back at the redhead. "Jim, the Committee have a proposition for you..."

...Hetfield narrowed his eyes, not buying the man's words for a second. Though, as ever, he was still intrigued. "Go ahead."

"They want Ryan Eyes Only... And they know you can get in contact with him. They want you to set up a meeting with him. Face to face, of course."

Hetfield sighed. He knew that one was coming. He knew that Jacky and Ryan had been stirring up trouble, thinking they could take Monticora on. If only it were that simple. Their plan had failed the first time around, all because Hetfield was kept in the dark about how advanced their resources really were now. But he should have known. He should have sensed something was amiss, at least. But he didn't. And he would never forgive himself for that.

"Look," Hetfield said. "If I do that... We both know what it means for me." He stated pointedly.

"No, Jim. They know that every man has his price."

Hetfield's jaw tightened again at the humorous tone to Kirk's voice. He could just picture that usual smug smirk slapped across his stupid face. Oh, how he wanted to punch that smug smirk right off of his stupid face.

"You do this, Jim, and They'll bring you in from the cold."

Hetfield arched a brow, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. If They wanted to play it this way, then on Their heads be it. He was tired of running, tired of looking over his shoulder and tired of fighting a losing battle. But one thing he WASN'T, was willing to give up. Ever. "Well, since you put it THAT way..."

...Hammett smirked. "Welcome back to the fold, Jim."


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Williams' smirk widened slightly. "Or who knows? Maybe you've just been REALLY lucky so far." She aired casually. "'Cause for all we know, this could STILL happen to you."

By 9:35:A.M., the next morning, Spencer was stood back out in the courtyard behind her barracks. Alec stood beside her to her left, the rest of the class of 20 X-5s stood either side of them. At the front, were the two T.A.C. leaders, making sure the X-5s were kept in line. And at one end of the line, and going slowly down, stood Williams as she addressed each of the paired transgenics.

Williams stopped in front of the next pair. "Report." She ordered calmly.

The young male replied quickly. "Successful copulation with X-5-356, ma'am!"

Williams shot them both a smile and nodded. "Excellent." She said before moving down onto the next pair. "Report."

The male hesitated slightly, causing the female to reply this time instead. "Copulation with X-5-625 was unsuccessful, ma'am!"

Williams arched a brow at her, clearly displeased. "Explain." She demanded, though, still remaining calm.

"X-5-625 failed to achieve minimum mission requirements, ma'am!"

Williams shot the male a disapproving look before glancing over her shoulder to one of the T.A.C. leaders.

The T.A.C. leader nodded before marching over and grabbing the male transgenic by the back of the neck and escorting him roughly off of the courtyard.

Again, Williams moved onto the next pair; Spencer and Alec. She held back a smirk as she glanced at Spencer. "Report." She waited for a moment, neither or them replying and then narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the pair. "Report." She repeated, her tone a little sterner.

Spencer didn't know what the hell to say and she was sure that Alec would rat her out. So she was pretty shocked when he answered quickly for the both of them. And actually rather grateful, too.

"Successful copulation with X-5-457, ma'am... Twice." He added, fighting back his own smirk.

Spencer, on the other hand, was trying very hard not to just step the fuck out of line and smack him across his smug shit face. And maybe snapping the redhead's neck while she was at it.

Williams arched a brow, looking pleasantly surprised. "Excellent, 457." She said, no longer hiding her smug grin. "What would your little boyfriend say?" She taunted, her grin widening.

Spencer simply kept her eyes front, not bothering to give her the satisfaction.

However, Williams knew better. She knew the girl was just itching to murder her in her sleep or something as equally dramatic. "Tell me something, 457 -- did you ever receive any medical treatment when you were running around on the outside?"

This time, Spencer shot her a smug look as she answered. "No, ma'am!"

"...Then how do you explain THIS?"

Spencer's eyes widened in horror as she glanced down at the poor girl's half-lifeless form. It was the clone, her clone, the one who had shot her, the one who had killed her. But Spencer felt her anger for the girl quickly fade away now. The girl looked just as Lacey had that night when she had been sickly, before Spencer and Zack had to give her up to Monticora. The X-7 clone's eyes were barely open and very bloodshot as she glanced over at Spencer. She knew who Spencer was and was actually kind of happy to see her. At least if she DID, she'd know what she WOULD have looked like as an adult. Spencer's eyes drifted over the poor teen -- lying in the bed, surrounded by ice packs and hooked up to an oxygen machine. The poor thing could barely wheeze out her breaths.

Williams watched the transgenics for a moment before speaking. "She's a clone of you, a younger version, of course. She's barely 17. Poor thing..." She explained, shooting the young teen a look of sympathy.

Spencer was only half paying attention to the redhead's words as she continued to stare sadly at the young X-7.

"BUT," Williams continued, her tone rather gravely. "She's suffering from late-stage progeria, just as your sister; Lacey was. Oh, by the way, Lacey is doing exceptionally well." She added that last part with a smug little smirk.

Spencer ignored her, her own dark orbs focussed on the identical eyes of her young clone.

"Now," Williams continued, turning her body to face the older transgenic. "Except for her X-7-specific gene code sequences, her D.N.A. is identical to your own." She explained, staring suspiciously. "So, I will ask you only ONE more time; did you receive ANY medical care from the outside world that I should know about?" She repeated her question one last time, her tone a lot sterner this time.

Spencer finally tore her eyes away from her young clone and slowly turned to face the redhead. "No, ma'am!" She chirped back with a small, smug smirk, her voice laced with sarcasm once again. She didn't care if the bitch believed her or not. Besides, it was the truth -- Spencer had never even caught so much as a cold.

Williams, as predicted, looked as though she didn't quite believe the X-5. Nonetheless, she nodded in response. "Fine." She said, her voice low, but smooth and calm. "Then I guess we're just gonna have to do spinals on the both of you, so that we can run a full D.N.A. analysis." She stated with another smug expression.

Spencer merely glared back at her in response.

Williams' smirk widened slightly. "Or who knows? Maybe you've just been REALLY lucky so far." She aired casually. "'Cause for all we know, this could STILL happen to you." She said before sauntering over to the door.

Spencer shot her young clone one last look before following reluctantly after the evil little redhead.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer's eyes widened a little, once again, she was slightly stunned. "Wow, you can talk..." She noted to herself, still staring up at him in amazement. And slight fear.

After another long day at the Hell hole facility, Spencer was once more cooped up back in her single cell. And thankfully, Williams had ordered a 2 day 'resting' period for the X-5s before they were to copulate, like breeding animals, again. So, when the lights finally went out for the night, Spencer decided to take this opportunity to continue with her little escape plan. And she was glad that the guards only checked up on the X-5s every 2 and a half hours.

Spencer gritted her teeth as she sawed away at the wall and after a few more minutes, she had finally managed to cut her way through a couple of the large gray bricks. She placed the metal rod down, slowly leaning into the new hole she had made and took a quick look around. She glanced down, seeing that the floor of the steam room was only a few meters down and smiled triumphantly to herself. Spencer quickly pulled her head back in and quickly pulled her bunk back down to cover the hole and putting the bricks in her bunk as a decoy and covering them with the blanket, just in case. She then slid back through, this time, legs first. She dropped down the few meters and landed gracefully on her feet in the vacant and dimly lit boiler area. She took a few steps, glancing curiously around at her surroundings, only to jump in fright at the sudden loud barking sound. Her eyes widened as they landed on the incredibly tall and thick-set man standing in front of her.

He was no ordinary man, that much was clear. His eyes were a light shade of brown and one of the things still human-looking about him. His brows were non-existent and instead were scattered with light freckles. His brow was low, his nose flattened out slightly, like a dog's snout and passed his brown, shoulder-length hair, she could see the tips of his ears slightly peeking out. He stood at least at 7 foot, easy as he bared his large, though pearly while canines down at her. And unlike her, he wasn't wearing the issued uniform, instead he wore a pair of baggy cargo pants, a tight fit t-shirt, showing off his impressive abs and a large green hoodie jacket. Though, he was still wearing the basic steal-toe-cap boots the other transgenics wore.

Spencer took a step back, holding up her hands in surrender. There was no fricking way she was even going to attempt to take this big bastard on. Although, he was kind of cute, even when snarling fiercely. "Hey, whoa! It's okay. Relax, big fella." She told him, her voice gentle as she tried to stay calm. She knew what he was, though. He was a 'Nomlie' -- as Jake used to call them. But that didn't matter to Spencer. To her, they were all the same. And they were all each other had in this cruel world.

The dog-like-looking man seemed to back off a little, shooting her a rather curious look. "YOU relax... Little fella." He mumbled, his voice incredibly low, although, surprising gentle.

Spencer's eyes widened a little, once again, she was slightly stunned. "Wow, you can talk..." She noted to herself, still staring up at him in amazement. And slight fear.

The man shot her another curious look, now looking completely at ease with her presence. "'Wow'..." He mumbled, as if he were testing the word out, hearing it for the first time ever.

Spencer shot him a sheepish smile. "I-I didn't mean anything by it." She stuttered slightly, shooting him another small smile. She took a careful step closer to him and thankfully, he seemed okay with that. "It's just, um, I've never seen anyone quite like you before." She shot him a friendly grin, feeling herself finally relax. If he wanted to hurt her, she suspected he would have done so by now. " So, um, what happened? They put too much canine D.N.A. in your cocktail?" She chimed, her grin widened as she stared up at him in wonder. He was so tall, she barely reached his chest.

Still seeming as intrigued as a puppy dog, the man edge a little closer and took a few sniffs. "Cat..." He mumbled. "Cat in your 'cocktail'."

Spencer shot him a nervous smile. "Heh, yeah... But don't hold it against me." She joked quietly.

The man growled low in his throat before letting out a soft sneeze.

Spencer finally relaxed again and chuckled slightly. "Gesundheit." She mumbled. "Hey, I dig your teeth... Can I see 'em?" She asked, shooting him a curious look.

The man shot her his ever curious expression back before nodding and slowly edging back towards her. He slowly leaned his head down and opened his mouth, pulling his lips back and baring his large rows of canines.

Spencer stared at them, looking very impressed before taking a step back. "Those are real cool." She told him, wearing another grin.

The man stood straight, still staring down at her with puppy-like intrigue. "You're X-5." He stated, noticing the colour of her uniform.

Spencer nodded. "Yeah. I'm Spencer." She said, holding her hand out to him. And then when he stared down at her hand in confusion, she chuckled and then grabbed his hand and shook it.

"'Spencer'..." The man mumbled, as if testing the word out. "'Spencer'... 'Spencer'... Father named you?" He asked, his eyes lighting up in excitement.

Spencer shot him an odd look before shaking her head. "Nope. No father. Just me... For now, anyway." She mumbled that last part with a slight frown.

The man simply nodded. "Father named ME. Joshua!" He stated with a small, but proud-looking grin.

Spencer frowned, looking confused now. "Father? You don't mean Hetfield, do you?" She asked with a slight scowl.

Joshua let out a low snarl. "No." He said, looking rather disgusted at the mere mention of the name. "Father." He insisted. "Sandman."

"'Sandman' named you..." Spencer mumbled, shooting him a slightly bewildered look.

Joshua simply nodded.

"Okay... Cool." Spencer nodded. Personally, she was beginning to think that maybe he had just spent too long down here. "So, does anyone know you're down here?" She asked him, shooting him another curious look.

Joshua shook his head. "No."

Spencer frowned. "What about this Sandman father of yours?"

"He left me, here." Joshua mumbled, looking incredibly saddened and hurt by that fact. "Here I am."

Spencer's frown deepened with concern. "He just up and left you here?" She asked, her voice gentle and sympathetic.

Joshua nodded once again. "He made me. Then, left me. True enough." He mumbled softly, his voice slightly strained.

Spencer nodded, shooting him a soft, but understanding look. "That's pretty whack." She whispered.

"He made us ALL." Joshua told her. "I was the FIRST -- special. No barcode. Then, he made more like ME... More like YOU... More PEOPLE --" He said, gesturing with his hand to the world above them. "-- People, up there... Father lost in all the people... So, here I am... Waiting."

Spencer nodded, feeling slightly sorry for the poor guy. He seemed so gentle and sweet, for such a big, bad ass looking guy. "It's too bad you don't have a room with a view." She half joked, trying to brighten the mood.

Joshua shot her another look of confusion.

"Y'know, a window?" Spencer asked, hoping he would understand. "I'm trying to find a way outta this pit."

Joshua finally caught on and nodded in understanding. "Ah! Come, come." He told her before shuffling over the small hole along the back wall behind her...

...After Spencer followed the rabbit -- puppy down the hole, she quickly found herself back in the basement of the facility, a place she never thought she would see again. And as she followed Joshua down the dimly lit corridors, her mind briefly flashed back to all those times she and her siblings had been forced to march passed the cells of the 'Nomlies.' Although, when she finally snapped back to reality, she knew that it was just the kid in her that had been afraid, because as she glanced into some of the cells, she actually felt really sorry and angry for the poor creatures. Spencer watched as Joshua growled at one of the more reptile-looking creatures behind the barred sells, making it shrink back and behave itself. "Looks like this father of yours kept himself real busy." She stated, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Joshua turned back to her and shot her a rather sheepish smile. "Some okay, like me... Some, not so good." He mumbled, glancing to the one she had looking at. He gave an encouraging little bark to the shrivelled-looking creature, who was cowered in the corner of his sell and whimpering in pain. "Hungry." He grunted.

"Don't They ever feed these poor guys?" Spencer asked, looking utterly appalled.

Joshua nodded, though, he was still rather saddened. "They do... Sometimes... I do... Sometimes... When I can."

Spencer simply nodded and continued to follow him down to the end of the corridor. She followed him through another shattered hole in the wall and found herself standing in the middle of a small room.

Joshua walked over to the opposite wall effortlessly ripped the large wooden plank from the bricks to reveal a large, barred window. "Room with a VIEW!" He stated, wearing a triumphant grin.

Spencer shot him a wide, grateful grin as she approached the window. She reached out, grabbing the thick bars and testing their strength. "This is gonna take a while." She admitted with a tired little sigh.

"JUST a view." Joshua told her, wearing a slightly concerned look.

Spencer frowned, looking rather confused. "What'd you mean?"

"No exit." Joshua said, shaking his head fiercely. "X-7s in the forest."

Spencer frowned, her gaze snapping back out of the window. "How many?" She asked as her eyes drifted around the dense forest surrounding the side of the building.

"Ones." Joshua mumbled, glancing out of the window beside her.

Spencer smirked, her eyes finally landed on one lone, teenage X-7. "Yup. And THERE he is..." She mumbled, using her vision to zoom in on the armed little bastard. "I think I can take him." She stated confidently.

Joshua shook his head again. "Uh-uh."

Spencer scoffed. "Oh, come on! There's only ONE of them."

Joshua shook his head yet again. "Ones. LOTS of ones."

Spencer glanced back out of the window, finally seeing another 11 of the little bastards emerging from the trees. "Ohhh... I get it... LOTS of ones." She then watched curiously as they all stood in two lines, all facing each other silently. "What're they doing?" She asked, glancing back to him.

Joshua stood with his head tilted slightly as if he were listening to something. "Talking." He mumbled absentmindedly.

Spencer shot him a look of confusion before glancing back out of the window, again, and focussing her hearing. "But... I don't hear anything..."

"I do." Joshua mumbled, smiling slightly to himself.

Spencer frowned. "Huh... Must be up in the ultrasonic range."

"Bat." Joshua said, now facing her again. "Bat in their cocktail."

Spencer nodded. "Look, the Sun will be coming up soon. I'll be back tomorrow, though." She promised with a wide, reassuring smile.

Joshua shot her a small, bashful smile and nodded. He then slowly held his hand out to her. "You blaze?"

Spencer smiled in amusement and nodded as she shook his hand. "I blaze. That's the plan."


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm trying to find Monticora." Jacky said, glancing warily over at the other man.
> 
> "Looks like Monticora found YOU." Hammett spoke up finally and with a small, rather smug smirk.
> 
> Jacky instantly glared over at Hetfield. "You told him!?" He snarled.

With one hand, Jacky switched on the exo-skeleton he had managed to haul himself into before then managing to pull a pair of loose jeans on top. With his other hand, he gripped his cellphone that had been glued to his ear for the last damn hour. "No!" He snapped finally as he walked down the hallway and into the living room. "Look, I need to do this today... Yes... Okay, good. I'll meet you there in an hour." He muttered before snapping his old cellphone shut and shoving it into his favourite 'Lone Wolf' denim jacket pocket.

There was a sudden loud couple of knocks from the front door before it swung open to reveal his latest usual suspect. "Hey, Jacks." The woman smiled brightly over at him before shutting the front door behind her and shuffling down the hallway towards him.

"Uh, hi, Tessa." Jacky mumbled, arching a intrigued brow at the large cardboard box she was carrying in her arms. And it looked real heavy, too. "So, what's going on?" He asked, clearly hinting at the mystery package.

Tessa shot him a sheepish grin. "Oh, right, I kinda need a favour."

Jacky nodded, silently urging her to continue.

"I gotta go up Sector 18 this afternoon and I need to stash this here. If that's cool? I mean, it'll only be for a few hours. Promise." Tessa shot him another, more hopeful grin.

"Uh, sure." Jacky nodded. "What's in it?" He asked, genuinely curious.

"Heh," Tessa chuckled nervously. "Well, let's just say that it's something that I REALLY don't want the Sector cops to see when I go through the checkpoints."

"So..." Jacky arched a brow, shooting her a pointed look. "What's in it?"

Tessa sighed loudly in defeat. Of course he deserved to know what she was asking him to stow away. "It's a box full of guns, Jacks." She said, needing no further explanation.

Jacky smirked slightly and nodded. "Well, I gotta be somewhere in the next 45 minutes, so go right ahead." He told her, holding out a welcoming arm.

Tessa chuckled, looking somewhat relieved by his reaction. "Thanks."

Jacky smirked, walking down the hallway towards the front door. "Yeah, no problem. Let yourself out. And Ryan's in his office, if you wanted to poke your head in before you go."

Tessa grinned and nodded. "Yeah. I'll do that..."

...35 minutes later in an old, abandoned warehouse on the edge of town, Jacky had borrowed Ryan's Aztek, and was finally pulling up to the dank, old building. He quickly killed the engine, spotting Hetfield and Hammett already waiting for him just outside the small entrance. He hopped out of the car, shutting the door before walking over to the two older men.

"It's been a while." Hetfield, as always, was the first to speak. Although, he shot the young British man a friendly flicker of a smile.

Jacky nodded in agreement. "So, you said that you have some information for me."

Hetfield nodded. "I did." He replied, calmly as ever.

"I'm trying to find Monticora." Jacky said, glancing warily over at the other man.

"Looks like Monticora found YOU." Hammett spoke up finally and with a small, rather smug smirk.

Jacky instantly glared over at Hetfield. "You told him!?" He snarled.

Hetfield smirked. "Sorry, son. It's just good business."

"Go fuck yourself!" Jacky sneered, his voice dangerously low.

"So," Hammett's smirk widened considerably. "THIS is the great, and powerful Ryan Eyes Only... Well, hold on now, lemme get a good look with my ONE eye." He shot Hetfield a brief, but pointed glare. His one brown orb focussed back on the younger, blue-eyed man, his smirk instantly appearing again. "Well, he doesn't look like much."

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you, Kirk..." Hetfield mumbled as he tried very hard to hold onto his own smug smirk. He glanced briefly back to Jacky, who gave him the faintest of nods. "Duck!" Hetfield yelled, causing Hammett to jump in surprise. Hetfield quickly used the distraction to his advantage by elbowing Hammett hard in the face, sending him stacking to the dusty ground.

Hammett groaned loudly, wincing in pain. "What the FUCK, Hetfield!? You playing both sides of the fence now!? We had a God, damn deal, you son of a bitch! You think Little Red's just gonna let this go!? NO fucking way!" He growled, glaring up at the older man, but making no attempt to get up.

Hetfield slowly reached into his own jacket pocket, producing a large handgun. "Williams." He said, his voice still calm as he aimed the barrell towards the man's forehead. "WHAT is she doing to the X-5s?"

Hammett let out a loud and frustrated huff. "Not THIS stupid shit again! Damn it, Jim! I DON'T fucking know! For the LAST fucking time!" He yelled back, still glaring up at him in outrage.

Hetfield narrowed his eyes down at the man, slowly cocking his weapon. "She murdered one of my kids, Kirk..." He mumbled calmly before pulling the trigger. "THAT CUNT MURDERED ONE OF MY KIDS!!" He screamed in complete rage, staring vacantly down at the man's bleeding wound.

Hammett let out a loud howl of pain and anguish, his hands flying to his right knee-cap. "FUCK YOU, JIM!!" He yelled back, clutching his fresh, flooding wound.

"Fuck me?" Hetfield scoffed. "How about I shove this barrell up your ass, and pull the God, damn trigger!? Huh!? How about I fuck YOU with my gun!! HUH!?" He snapped, his voice low, but still somehow calm.

"Easy, Hetfield." Jacky piped up. "We need him to talk... THEN, you can kill him."

Hetfield's annoyed expression quickly morphed into a satisfied one. He then finally lowered his gun and took a small step back.

"Fuck! Okay!" Hammett growled. "Okay! I'll talk! But ONLY if I get to leave here alive tonight."

Hetfield and Jacky shared a brief look before nodding.

"Seems reasonable." Jacky mumbled.

"Why not?" Hetfield chirped all too sweetly.

"TALK, Hammett." Jacky said, eyes narrowed down at the man.

"And don't even THINK of lying to us." Hetfield added. "Unless you want me to spoon out your other eye." He smirked wickedly.

"Okay, okay." Hammett grumbled, trying hard not to pass the fuck out. "The tank she kept your girl in,"

As he began finally, Hetfield's mind briefly flashed back to when he'd arrived at the scene to find Valary's lifeless, floating body. He remembered the way he felt that night, like he'd lost another child. And even worse, to that red-headed little hick. But what he remembered the most clearly was the look on Spencer's face, right before she broken through to 'rescue' her big sister. And then the look on Spencer's face when she finally spotted him standing there watching -- the utter hatred in her dark chocolate brown orbs, right before she leaped for him; lunged for the kill. And even now still, he was proud. Proud of them all. His gifted children.

Hammett carried on. "Williams was looking for something in the mother of that halfling's D.N.A."

Hetfield snapped out of his thoughts at that. "And WHAT was she trying to find?" He asked, narrowing his eyes down at the younger man again.

"I don't know. I SWEAR it." Hammett said. "But whatever the hell it was, Williams wanted it, REALLY fucking bad." He said, his voice low, as if he feared the evil redhead hearing him. "But... It wasn't there."

Hetfield and Jacky shared another brief, more curious look.

Hammett groaned loudly, wincing in pain as he clutched his sticking, claret-ridden limb. "Damn, Jim... Could you PLEASE take me to a hospital now."

Hetfield sighed loudly in defeat, slowly raising his gun towards the bloody man again. "Well, I'm sorry, but I lied, because that's just NOT going to be possible. See, you may only have one eye, but you still managed to get a good look at my friend, here." He stated, motioning towards Jacky.

Hammett scoffed loudly, holding up his hands in surrender. "What!? Nah man, no! I hardly even looked at him! Besides, all you white boys look the same to me." He joked half-heartedly.

Hetfield noticed the hitch in the man's voice and smirked to himself. "Sorry, Kirk." He said, cocking his gun again. "But we never really DID like each other, anyway." He stated casually before pulling the trigger for a second time. He watched calmly as the blood quickly began to flow out of the small gunshot wound in the middle of his 'old friend's' forehead.

Jacky grimaced slightly, tearing his eyes away from the now lifeless corpse, lying in the dust.

Hetfield locked his weapon, shoving it back into his pocket. He then slowly turned back to face the younger man and smiled eagerly. "So, you wanna know all about Monticora?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The thing is..." Spencer trailed off for a moment. She didn't know what to say without hurting his feelings. "There's nobody really like you out there... Y'know, people get REAL scared of things they haven't seen before. They get scared easily of things they don't understand... Not like you and I." She added that last part with a soft smile.

A couple of nights later, Spencer was back down in the basement under her barracks. Her new friend, the dog-man; Joshua stood beside her, watching with big brown curious orbs as his new X-5 feline friend continued to hack away at the iron bars of the little window he had shown to her. Another 10 minutes later, Spencer had finally sawn through the bar, although, she was still only halfway through. '3 down, 4 to go.' She thought with a small, but triumphant smile. "Another night or 2 and we'll be in business." She stated, her smile widening as she finally turned back to face the adorable dog-man.

Joshua nodded, swiping his long, brown locks away from his face. "Spencer... Outside?" He asked, tilting his head slightly as he gazed at her with his large, doe eyes.

Spencer smiled and nodded. "Spencer outside. That's the plan."

Joshua smiled slightly, revealing his large canines. "Joshua... Outside. Joshua AND Spencer... Outside." He nodded. "THAT'S the plan."

"Oh..." Spencer was slightly caught off guard by that. "You wanna go with me?" She asked, shooting him a surprised expression.

Joshua simply nodded in response, his smile slowly growing.

"Oh, I, uh... I don't know." Spencer mumbled, biting her lip slightly. Of course she would have loved for him to be able to come with her, but she had enough trouble staying hidden. And she, at least looked normal enough to pass as just another Ordinary. And she knew that wouldn't be the case for poor, lonesome dog-man.

Joshua grinned at her. "I know." He nodded, looking reassured by his own words. "Spencer and Joshua, outside."

"The thing is..." Spencer trailed off for a moment. She didn't know what to say without hurting his feelings. "There's nobody really like you out there... Y'know, people get REAL scared of things they haven't seen before. They get scared easily of things they don't understand... Not like you and I." She added that last part with a soft smile.

Joshua's excited, puppy-dog expression slowly dissolved into one of disappointment.

Spencer sighed quietly in defeat, feeling incredibly guilty now. "I'm just saying," She mumbled, gently grasping her elbow. "You'd just end up trading one basement for another." She frowned slightly as the words left her mouth. She didn't believe them, so how could she expect him to? She had once vowed to get them all out, but now she had the chance, she didn't even know where to start.

Joshua let out a little huff, but nodded at her. "I... Understand..." He mumbled sadly...

...When Spencer had parted from Joshua for the night again, she made her way back. In 5 minutes, she was already at the wall she escaped through. She leaped up the few meters and carefully pulled herself back through the hole. Slowly, she pulled herself from under her bunk and found that she wasn't alone in her cell.

Alec sat there on top of her bunk, fiddling with an old cellphone. He glanced down at her and smirked in amusement. "Did you forget we had a date tonight, 457?" He chirped, shoving the cellphone into his pocket.

Spencer sighed in defeat, mentally cursing herself as she slowly rose to her feet. "My name is Spencer." She muttered. "So, when do the storm-troopers bust in?" She asked calmly, but also glaring over at him.

Alec chuckled. "Don't worry," He said, slowly rising from her bunk and pulling it up, chaining it back to the wall. "I didn't set off the alarm... Not YET, anyway." He told her, still wearing his usual smirk.

'God, he really is NOTHING like Jake... SO fucking annoying! AND smug!' Spencer thought, gritting her teeth slightly. She bent down and quickly shoved the bricks back in, filling the small hole in the wall back up. "So," She rose back to her feet, facing him again. "What'd you want?" She asked bluntly, getting straight to the point.

Alec shrugged lazily. "I'm not looking for any trouble." He stated sincerely. "What you do is your own business. Just like what I do is my own business." He told her, holding up his hands in surrender.

Spencer narrowed her eyes at him, not quite believing him.

"Plus, it DOES help that you're REALLY cute." Alec added with another wide smirk.

Spencer rolled her eyes. "We're all real cute. It's in the genes, remember?" She retorted with a bored tone of voice.

Alec chuckled in amusement. "So, why do you want out of here so badly anyway?" He asked, looking genuinely curious.

Spencer stared at him as if he were insane.

"I mean, you've got a roof over your head and there's plenty to eat. Which is more than you can say for most people in the outside world." Alec stated, shooting her a pointed look.

Spencer scoffed loudly. "Do you really think that Monticora just takes care of you out of the goodness of it's heart?" She asked, sarcasm dripping from her tone. "It's just using you." She told him, also shooting him a 'duh' look.

Alec merely rolled his eyes at that. "Hey! NOBODY'S using me." He told her, shooting her a stern look in return.

Spencer rolled her eyes back at him. "That's what you don't get;" She said. "You're working for the bad guys..."

...The next morning, bright and early as usual, Spencer was awakened rudely by the shouting of the guards and the banging on her cell door. However, this morning, Spencer was wanted in the Commander's office. Spencer stood in front of Williams' desk, a guard standing each side of the X-5, just in case.

Williams let out a loud sigh, looking rather annoyed right now.

Not that Spencer cared. She simply stood there, her hands behind her back as she stared blankly down at the redhead.

"You REALLY don't understand what is at stake here, 457." Williams said, shooting her a stern look.

Spencer mentally scoffed. 'Oh, I REALLY do. I hope Jacky and Ryan ruin you! I mean, why the hell does she think I'm not co-operating? Huh. Thought the bitch was a little smarter. Guess not.' She fought back a small smirk at that last thought.

"If Ryan Eyes Only ISN'T stopped, there are gonna be a shitload of news vans parked up around the entire perimeter of our facility." Williams stated, her temper rising slightly with each word she spoke. "The Committee is NOT going to allow the existence of this program to be exposed. No matter what. It will jeopardize it's other operations."

Spencer rolled her eyes. "I guess I'm supposed to be curious and ask what THAT means?" She quipped, sarcasm dripping from her tone.

Williams glared in irritants up at the incredibly stubborn transgenic. "It MEANS that I lock down the cells and then, I burn this place to the ground." She ground out. "Along with you AND everyone else inside, of course." She added with a cruel smirk.

Spencer's expression darkened slightly. Though, she covered it quickly with another roll of her eyes.

Williams arched a brow, clearly surprised. "Oh, you don't believe me?" She quipped, her smirk widening slightly. "On paper, this place is just a V.A. hospital. So, if anyone comes looking, all they're gonna find is the remains of a tragic fire that killed all of its patients. It's called 'plausible deniability.'"

Spencer scoffed. "It's CALLED; 'bluffing.'"

Williams let out a loud, frustrated huff. "Look, 457, you NEED to understand something here --" She shot the transgenic another cruel smirk. "You are NOTHING, but a pound of flesh to me. And this," She reached across her desk and held up a small floppy-disk. "This is ALL I need. This is all that REALLY matters to me. I could just start over, anywhere I want. I could just pull all of the data that we have accumulated into my briefcase, lock all the doors, light the match and then, kiss your 'transgenic ass' goodbye." She concluded with a smug grin as she tossed the disk back onto her desk.

Spencer didn't hold back this time, she glared back down at the evil redhead, but didn't bother to reply.

Williams smiled knowingly. "If you make me find Ryan Eyes only on my own, he WILL be a dead man." She promised rather than threatened. "BUT... Help me instead? Well, then, MAYBE there's a deal to be made."

Spencer frowned slightly. 'Yeah, right. Like I believe THAT!'


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joshua shot her a toothy grin and nodded in response. "Spencer outside. That's the plan."

Spencer struggled violently against the restraints strapped across her, but failed miserably. She knew what was about to happen; they were going to try to make her talk, but she never would. Never.

As one of the doctors came forward, he leaned down, sticking the syringe carefully into the transgenic's right arm.

Spencer winced, her eyes widening when another one of the doctors appeared the other side of her gurney. The doctor reached towards the machine and pulled the laser light over the transgenic's right eye.

Williams suddenly appeared out of the shadows behind the X-5. "You ARE going to help me, 457." She purred with a small, but wicked grin. "Whether you want to OR not..."

...Spencer shot up into a sitting position, her heart racing. Her eyes darted around, gathering her surroundings to find that she was back in her cell. Although, she wasn't alone.

"Hey," Alec stood, leant against the opposite wall with his arms crossed against his chest. "You okay?" He asked, frowning lightly in concern.

Spencer ignored him as she tried to focus on calming her breathing down.

"Huh. I guess They finally got it outta you." Alec said, though, more to himself as he watched her intently.

Spencer scoffed. "I don't know what you're talking about." She grunted as she slowly swung her legs off of her bunk.

"I heard that They were sending an X-5 to take out some reporter friend of yours." Alec explained.

Spencer's heart raced at that and she didn't care if he could here it. "I didn't tell Them anything." She whispered. Though, she knew she was only trying to convince herself. The truth was that she didn't remember her torture sessions. Ever. But Hetfield had always told her how she was especially difficult to brainwash. Even as a child. She just really hoped she hadn't finally cracked and spilled the beans. If she had, then Ryan and Jacky were both in grave danger.

"Are you sure?" Alec asked, shooting her a rather half-hearted look of sympathy.

Spencer quickly rose from her bunk before chaining it back up to the wall. "I gotta get outta here. Right now." She mumbled as she knelt down.

Alec rolled his eyes to himself as he watched her quietly removing the loosened bricks from the wall under her bunk. "You're in no shape to even be thinking of tangling with those X-7s." He pointed out.

Spencer simply ignored him as she removed the last brick away from the man-sized hole.

"If you're lucky, you'll probably make it out to the yard before they take you down alive." Alec said, half-taunting her, but also serious. Sure, she was a stubborn, pain in the ass, but that didn't mean he wanted to see her get greased. He kind of liked her. She was funny and actually had a sense of humour, like he had. And that was a rarity among his kind.

Spencer huffed as she rose back to her feet to face him. "Then, help me." She suggested lightly, knowing what his answer would be. 'Pansy.'

Alec shot her a humorous smirk, but shook his head. "No, thanks. I told you; I'm not looking for any trouble."

'Knew it.' Spencer rolled her eyes at him. "This is probably gonna be your only chance to get me outta your life, for good." She pointed out, hoping he would take the bait. Besides, if she annoyed him as much as he did her, then wasn't it worth it?

Alec paused, contemplating that notion for a few moments. "Huh... I guess if you DO escape again, I'll get a new breeding partner. One who will ACTUALLY cooperate." He stated thoughtfully.

Spencer smirked and nodded. "NOW, we're speaking the same language..."

...A half hour later, Alec found himself 'forced' to help out Spencer as the both of them continued to hack away at the metal bars of this smelly, old basement. He sighed loudly, his expression beyond bored as he glanced over his shoulder.

Joshua stood a few feet behind the X-5s, his head tilted slightly as he listened to the distance patrolling footsteps of the X-7s on the outside.

Alec watched the dog-man curiously for a few moments before turning back to the female X-5. "Y'know, it kinda makes you wonder what else they've got lurking around down here. I mean, did you get a proper look at that thing?" He mumbled quietly.

Spencer paused her work and instantly glared over at him. "He's not a 'thing'!"" She hissed venomously. "His name is 'Joshua'." She told him snootily.

Alec merely rolled his eyes at her before continuing to hack away at the iron bars again.

"More X-7s in the forest now." Joshua suddenly piped up as he continued to listen. "Pretty... Pretty whack." He added, shooting Spencer a small grin.

Spencer shot him a soft smile in response as she continued to hack away at the bars as well along with her very annoying companion.

"Yeah, yeah, Sasquatch." Alec drawled out, turning his gaze back to the odd creature.

Spencer glared over at him again.

Alec ignored her threatening expressions. "Hey, uh, why don't you quit mumbling and come over here and make yourself useful, huh?" He chirped, motioning to the bars.

Joshua glanced over to the bars and then nodded. He slowly shuffled towards the X-5s and held up his hands to motion for them to step out of the way.

Spencer and Alec both stepped aside and watched the dog-man.

Joshua stepped up to the bars, reaching up with both hands. He grasped a bar in each hand before tugging hard, pulling the entire bar-frame out of the wall.

Alec arched a brow, looking somewhere between timid and impressed.

Spencer smiled up at her friend. "Good work, Joshua."

With the frame still in his hands, Joshua shot the 'little fella' a dopey grin.

"Why the hell didn't you just get him to do that in the first place?" Alec asked, shooting Spencer an annoyed expression.

Spencer simply rolled her eyes at him.

Joshua let out a low growl as he stepped towards the male X-5. He held out the bar-frame to the smaller transgenic male, his eyes narrowing down at him.

Alec gulped quietly as he carefully reached out and took the bars from the rather intimidating dog-man.

Spencer smirked to herself before speaking up again. "Okay. NOW, we're in business. Everyone know what their doing?" She chimed, glancing expectantly between the males.

Joshua shot her a toothy grin and nodded in response. "Spencer outside. That's the plan."

Alec merely rolled his eyes, but nodded in response anyway.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Whoa! Boys!" Alec exclaimed, holding his hands up in surrender. "No need for fire-power. From now on, I'll behave, I promise..."

Joshua darted through the dense forest, weaving in and out of the trees, his heart racing with excitement. He glanced over his shoulder briefly and grinned when he saw the X-5 just a few meters behind him.

"Hey! Get back here!" Alec yelled. He halted in the next small clearing, waiting for the group of young X-7s to catch up to him. "He's getting away!" He barked, pointing after the dog-man.

The X-7s wasted no time in chasing after the larger transgenic with their firearms right beside them.

A few meters behind the commotion, Spencer finally dropped down from her hiding place in a tall tree. Landing gracefully on her feet, she then quickly took off in the opposite direction.

Alec darted passed the group of X-7s and tackled Joshua, causing them both to tumble to the ground. As one of the X-7s approached the two, Alec sent him a sloppy kick to the back of the knees. "Oops! Sorry there, squirt!" He chimed, smiling innocently. The other X-7s quickly surrounded them and again, Alec 'accidentally' knocked over another couple. "Oh, shit, sorry!"

The X-7s all held up their weapons to him this time, all glaring down at the X-5.

"MAYBE I should just let you guys handle this, huh?" Alec muttered, shooting them another innocent grin.

In their distraction of the X-5, Joshua quickly jumped to his feet. He darted forward, knocking a couple of the X-7s down before running off back into the forest.

The X-7 group instantly parted into 2 groups, one group following after Joshua and the others surrounding the X-5.

"Whoa! Boys!" Alec exclaimed, holding his hands up in surrender. "No need for fire-power. From now on, I'll behave, I promise..."

...Spencer pushed herself harder and faster through the forest and finally the perimeter fence was in her sights. She grinned to herself and blurred towards the 20 foot metal fence, knocking the lone X-7 down to the ground on her way.

The X-7 growled in anger before leaping back to his feet and grabbing his large firearm. He aimed the gun at the X-5 and began to open fire, but amazingly enough, missed each time.

Spencer ran like her life depended on it -- which it did -- and leaped as high as she possibly could, managing to clear the fencing by at least a foot and a half. Gracefully, she landed on her feet the other side.

The X-7 aimed for her once again, but this time he was interrupted by a loud roar from behind. He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes widening with the large canines he was met by.

Joshua grabbed the teen transgenic by the scruff of his jacket before effortlessly tossing him away from the fence and away from his 'Little Fella.'

Spencer swirled around upon hearing the commotion, her eyes widening as she watched the X-7 sailing through the air.

Joshua glanced back to his friend and gave her a reassuring nod. "You blaze!" He yelled out to her.

Spencer simply nodded, shooting one last smile before darting off, finally escaping. She had done it. Again.

Joshua stared after her, a deep and longing expression lingering in his dark orbs.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jacky's eyes widened as instantly as they focussed on the all too familiar face. He froze for a few moments, not knowing what to think, let alone say. "Spencer..."

\-- Satellite link failed! --

Jacky growled in irritation when Ryan's computer disconnected from the Ryan Eyes Only informant net once again. It had been doing that all damn evening. 'Must be all those stupid brown-outs fucking with the city's power.' He thought as he boredly tried to re-connect. As Jacky waited, he leaned back in the leather desk chair and let out a loud and tired sigh. As always -- when he wasn't keeping himself busy -- his thoughts began to drift towards Spencer, to her dark chocolate orbs that were almost black. He could remember the way she used to smile at him, making his heart stammer and skip several beats.

Spencer couldn't believe she was finally here. After 5 long years, she was finally back with her beautiful blue-eyed man. He was just feet from her as she stood in the open office doorway. She glanced around briefly, smiling when she noticed that not much had changed in the apartment.

Jacky suddenly still, sensing a presence behind him. Immediately, he was on alert, pulling the small handgun from under Ryan's desk. He shoved the chair to the side, quickly rising to his feet. He swirled then, pointing the weapon right at his intruder's head.

Spencer simply stood there, her expression calm, but also rather nervous. Though, not because of the gun pointed at her face.

Jacky's eyes widened as instantly as they focussed on the all too familiar face. He froze for a few moments, not knowing what to think, let alone say. "Spencer..." He uttered -- and well, it was a start, at least. He slowly lowered the gun then, his wide orbs still glued to his girl's face. His girl, who he believed to be dead... Well, sort of. He'd seen her die, yes. She had died in his arms, but he'd always still felt like she was out there somewhere. And now he knew why.

Spencer stared back at him with her rather sheepish expression. She, too, didn't really know what to think or say. So instead, she shot him a small smile and a nod of reassurance.

Jacky quickly locked the gun before tossing it onto the desk chair. "Spencer, I..." His eyes raked over her briefly, as if checking for injuries of simply checking if she was really real. "Fuck, Spencer... I... I thought you..."

Spencer nodded sadly. "I know... I WAS..." She forced herself to speak, though through a low mumble.

"What happened?" Jacky asked, taking a rather timid step towards her.

Spencer, too, took a small step towards him. "I'll explain everything later, I promise. But right now, I've GOTTA get both you and Ryan outta here. They're coming for you both." She said, her voice hushed and hurried and she took the last steps towards him, closing the gap between them finally.

Jacky instantly leaned down, smothering her lips with his own. He pulled his arms up, grabbing her waist gently and pulling her as close as he possibly could.

Spencer knew that she was wasting time, but right now, she didn't care. She couldn't help herself from reaching for his neck, locking her arms around him and pulling him closer down to her. A few moments later, Spencer pulled away to allow him some air, though, she kept her tight embrace on him.

Jacky smiled brightly, leaning down for another kiss.

Spencer returned the kiss for a couple of seconds before finally managing to control herself. At least, for now -- as soon as she had the chance, she was going to have her wicked way with her 'English boy' (as Original Gabby had dubbed him frequently).

"I missed you SO fucking much!" Jacky whispered, pressing a couple of light kisses to her deliciously full lips.

Spencer nodded, her eyes lost in his bright blues. "I missed you, too... You have NO idea."

Jacky chuckled quietly, looking highly amused. "Oh, I REALLY do. TRUST me."

Spencer nodded limply. "Look, we HAVE to leave. Now." She told him once again. "Where's Ryan?" She then asked, looking rather worried.

Jacky frowned slightly, finally registering her earlier words. "He's staying with his parents, down in Long Beach'." He told her.

Spencer let out a tiny sigh of relief and nodded in response. "Okay, good. But They're coming to get you, too, Jacky. And I can't let them take you away from me. Not like they took Zack and Valary and the others. I WON'T." She told him, looking somewhere between determined and utterly terrified.

"Who? Monticora?" Jacky asked, still looking somewhat confused. "Spencer, tell me what's going on."

"There's no time." Spencer shook her head before sliding her arms from his shoulders. "I'll explain everything when we're safe. I promise." She added as she grabbed onto his wrist.

"Spencer, wait. Just tell me what's going on." Jacky pleaded. He'd never seen her so worried, so frantic and it actually scared the shit out of him.

"She just killed you, that's what's happening, Brit-boy."

Spencer's head snapped towards the open doorway, her angry orbs landing on the all too smug shit, familiar face of 494.

Alec smirked cockily, his large handgun aimed at Jacky's forehead. "Nice job, 457. Mission accomplished... Well, ALMOST." He added, hinting towards the weapon in his hand with a wicked grin.

Jacky glanced between the two transgenics. "Friend of yours?"

"Not exactly." Spencer sneered, still glaring over at the other, torturous X-5.

Jacky arched a brow. "Don't you tranny's ever knock?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec arched a brow back, smirking slightly. "Well, it's not like you have a choice here." He stated, motioning to the gun still in his iron-grip.

"You little shit! You fucking tricked me!" Spencer snarled as she placed herself in front of Jacky and in front of the gun held in 494's hand. She knew that he would only shoot to incapacitate her, not to kill her. And she was certain that she would take a bullet for Jacky, if she had to. 'Not like I haven't done before...'

Alec merely rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah." He retorted, as if it was an obvious statement. "You didn't really think I was gonna risk going back to psy-ops by helping you escape, did you?" He chuckled lightly, looking down right amused by the idea of such a thing.

Spencer simply glared back at him. She knew he was right. She understood what he'd been through, what they had all been through. But she was still fucking pissed off!

"Look," Alec began. He held the gun out towards the couple, though, he looked a little sympathetic for them. "I'm just following orders."

"Fucking puppet." Spencer muttered under her breath, though, knowing full well that he would hear.

Alec rolled his eyes again. "Anyway, Williams said that if you want him to live," He explained, motioning to the rather confused blue-eyed man standing behind her. "You have to bring him back to Monticora and then turn yourself into her."

Spencer scoffed loudly, wearing a completely disbelieving look. "Yeah, right." She snipped, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "And WHY the shit would I believe anything that redhead bitch says?" She asked, arching an expectant brow.

Alec arched a brow back, smirking slightly. "Well, it's not like you have a choice here." He stated, motioning to the gun still in his iron-grip.

Spencer scoffed again, looking slightly amused herself. "Oh, no?" She quipped before lunging at him...

...Williams let out a tired little sigh just as the door to her office opened. She glanced up, seeing just the man she'd been waiting the last 2 hours for. "Dr. Jackson." She acknowledge him with a curt nod as he shut the door quietly behind him.

"Madame X." Dr. Jackson returned the curt nod as he walked over and stood in front of her desk.

"Do you have something for me?" Williams asked, motioning her gaze towards the silver iPad under his arm.

Dr. Jackson nodded. "The results of the D.N.A. work-up that you ordered on X-5-457, ma'am." He replied, grabbing the iPad and handing it over to her.

Williams nodded, absentmindedly taking the iPad from him. "Did you find anything to explain why there's no signs of progeria?" She asked before even glancing at the brightly lit screen.

Dr. Jackson shifted nervously, though, there was an odd look of excitement lingering in his bright blue orbs. "Uh, I think you should just take a look for yourself, ma'am." He told her politely and wearing a rather sheepish grin.

Williams arched a brow at him before nodding and then finally glancing down to the iPad's screen. Her eyes widened slowly as she took in the diagram of Spencer's body. "Oh, my..." She mumbled. 'I did it... I can't believe it, but I actually fucking found the one They've been looking for! Holy cow!'

Dr. Jackson grinned slightly when he noticed the shocked expression on his boss' face. "I've never seen anything like it, ma'am. But just to be certain, I'll have to run another series of tests as soon as X-5-494 brings her back here." He explained, hoping she would understand.

Williams finally tore her eyes from the screen and nodded. Somehow, she maintained her own excitement and calmly placed the iPad down on her desk in front of her. "Does anyone else know about this?" She asked just as calmly.

Dr. Jackson shook his head. "No, ma'am. No one else outside of this room." He replied.

Williams nodded. "Good." She said as she slowly reached into the small drawer under her desk. "Let's keep it that way." She then pulled out her small revolver and shot him in the forehead without any hesitation whatsoever.

Dr. Jackson's eyes widened, his body going ridged before sagging down to the floor in a now lifeless heap.

Williams then placed her gun back in the drawer and pulled her cellphone out of her blazer pocket. Instantly, she pressed speed dial 6 and as always, the line opened after just one ring. "C'est Williams. Je pense que j'ai trouvé ce gu'on cherchait... Non, personne ne le sait à Monticora... Je te l'emmene."

Translation:  
"It's Williams. I think I've finally found what we've all been looking for... No, no one else at Monticora knows... Yes, I'll bring her to you."


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer began to type away as she replied. "I'm ending this. Once and for all..."

Spencer darted forward, kicking the handgun out of the male X-5's hand, causing it to slide across the polished wood floorboards. And then without even hesitating, she slammed her fist into his face.

Alec skidded a few feet across the floor, grunting in pain, but quickly shaking it off. He sent her a glare, earning one back from her before lunging for her. He raised his leg, kicking her hard in the stomach and winding her as she crumbled to the floor.

Spencer forced herself to ignore the pain and took a deep breath. Instantly, she then rose back up to her feet and landed another hard blow to his pretty face with her fist.

Jacky's eyes widened as he witnessed the X-5s fighting one another. He'd never actually seen Spencer fight one of her own kind and while he was impressed, with them both, he was still worried for her. He was always worried for her. He quickly snapped out of his stupor and used their distraction to retrieve the gun at his feet.

The computer behind them suddenly beeped loudly before a message appeared on the screen.

\-- Satellite link is now established! --

Spencer sent one last kick to the back of Alec's legs, making him sink to his knees with a loud, pained grunt. She then took a step back when Jacky aimed the gun for the male transgenic.

Alec merely rolled his eyes, but held up his hands in surrender. "Fine." He let out an annoyed huff. "But when he's dead," He said, motioning to the Ordinary. "Can I go home?"

Spencer glanced over her shoulder and towards the computer. "No. Because it's not gonna be there anymore." She stated as a matter of fact as she walked over to the computer.

"Spencer, what're you doing?" Jacky asked. Though, he kept his eyed on the male transgenic as well as his gun.

Alec stared over at her, wearing an all too curious look.

Spencer began to type away as she replied. "I'm ending this. Once and for all..."

\-- "...Do not attempt to adjust your set. This is a streaming freedom video bulletin... Monticora... Your location has finally been revealed..." --

Williams stood in her office, glaring down at her computer screen.

\-- "...Your secret is out. Game over. And now Monticora will be held accountable for its crimes..." --

Williams growled in anger as she quickly reached over and turned the monitor off. "Son of a BITCH!!" She hissed.

The door to her office suddenly opened, revealing one of her other personal agents.

"What is it now, Armstrong!?" Williams snapped, narrowing her eyes over at the rather short, raven-haired man.

Billie Joe Armstrong -- one of her longest lasting business partners -- shot his boss a rather nervous look. "Ma'am," He mumbled. "It's THEM. They wanna talk to you." He stated, motioning to the cellphone in his hand.

Williams let out a tired sigh, looking rather defeated, but nodded as she took the cellphone from him. She held the phone to her ear and simply listened to her instructions. She knew better than to speak unless spoken to. "...Understood, sir. Right away." She stated formally before swiftly hanging up.

"Your orders, ma'am?" Armstrong asked her.

Williams sighed, shaking her head to herself before finally giving the order. "Lock down all the barracks. We're cauterizing the entire site."


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Well, STOP them." Williams ordered, her voice low, calm, but stern. "NO ONE gets passed the perimeters."

After Spencer had sent out the broadcast revealing Monticora's location (that Ryan had pre-recorded), she then handcuffed Alec to the radiator in Ryan and Jacky's kitchen. And while Jacky watched over his own personal male X-5 assassin (literally) with gun still in his hands, Spencer took off and literally ran all the way back to Monticora. She knew what Williams plan was if Monticora's location was ever revealed to the rest of the world, the redhead had told her herself; she would torch the entire place, with all of her brothers and sisters still inside. And there was no way that Spencer could let that happen. She'd made a promise to Zack that she would fight Them and now she was finally going to finish the mission by herself. Even if it meant her dying. Again.

Spencer pushed her speed to the limit and arrived back at the facility in a matter of 10 minutes. She stood at the top of the hill, over-looking Monticora and the dense forest surrounding it for miles on end. Her eyes widened then when parts of the building began to explode suddenly. Wasting no more time, she darted forward, blurring through the forest and leaping over the metal fencing effortlessly. Thankfully, there were no X-7s around -- though, she knew this was because all transgenics were trapped in lock-down for Williams evil plan of desecration.

Spencer quickly climbed up one of the drainpipes and entered the building through one of the air vents. A few moments later as she darted down the stairwell, she heard the red alert alarms blaring through the entire facility. She then entered through one of the corridors and found herself standing in the X-6 barracks. She ran down the corridor, frowning in concern when she saw the young transgenic children all banging against the windows and yelling for help. She stepped up to one of the reinforced metal doors and tried to barge it open with her shoulder, but failed miserably. Spencer grunted, glaring at the doors while thinking over her next move. 'The control room.' She thought. She stepped in front of the window of one of the large dorm-like cells and shot the panicking children the regular hand signals, hoping to ease their fear. With her hands, she simply told them; 'stay calm, soldiers, I'll get you all out' before darting off down the corridor. Finally, upon finding the control room, Spencer barged the door open easily and instantly grabbed the guard by the back of the neck and smashing his face into the control panel.

The guard grunted before slumping to the floor, unconscious.

Spencer stepped over him and instantly began typing away for a few moments before flipping the middle of the large red switches. She glanced over to the camera monitors and smiled triumphantly when she saw all of the cell doors opening followed by the transgenics flocking out and running for their lives. Soldiers of all ages spilled into the corridors, running through what was now smoke and flames...

...Armstrong glanced nervously at his computer screen as he watched 457 in the control room. "Ma'am," He said, glancing even more nervously over at his boss. "We've got a security breach." He told her, pointing to his screen. "X-5-457's unlocking the cell doors."

Williams looked completely outraged. 'Where the fuck is 494!?' She glared over at the older agent, her hands on her hips as she let out a loud and frustrated huff. "Well, override the system!" She yelled, shooting him a 'duh' look. "I don't care how you do it, Armstrong. Just lock-down those cells."

Armstrong nodded before typing away. He then frowned and glanced nervously back over at the redhead again. "I can't, ma'am. Control seems to be burned out..." He muttered, biting his bottom lip as he waited for her reaction. He then glanced over to the other screen, his eyes widening. "Ma'am, they're in the yard and heading for the fence."

"Well, STOP them." Williams ordered, her voice low, calm, but stern. "NO ONE gets passed the perimeters."

Armstrong nodded before heading to towards his office door.

"Oh, and bring me 457." Williams added. "ALIVE."

"Yes, ma'am!" Armstrong nodded one last time before making his swift exit.

Merely seconds after, the door opened again to reveal one of the T.A.C. leaders, armed fully in protective gear and a large firearm weapon. "Ma'am, we NEED to evacuate the facility right now." He explained.

"Where's 457?" Williams asked.

"Ma'am, this is a VERY serious situation." The T.A.C. leader said, shooting her a rather pleading look.

Williams simply glared defiantly at him. "I am NOT fucking leaving here without 457!" She barked angrily just as the door swung open again. Her eyes widened, seeing just the girl she was looking for.

In a matter of a split second, Spencer had darted towards the T.A.C. leader, rendering him to the floor unconscious with just a single punch to the face.

Williams eyes widened as the transgenic then appeared in front of her within the blink of her eyes.

"What a coincidence," Spencer chirped as she grasped the redhead's pale neck in one hand. "'Cause I'm not leaving here without you, neither."


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "...Father..."
> 
> "...Sandman..."
> 
> "Find... Sandeman..."

"WHY did you murder my sister!?" Spencer roared, glaring angrily up at the redhead as she grasped her pale, little neck with one hand.

Williams managed remain calm as she answered. "I-I was looking for something." She croaked through the transgenic's iron grip. "Look, we HAVE to get outta here, 457." She choked out, motioning to the loud explosions that could be heard throughout the building.

Spencer growled, shoving the redhead roughly onto the desk and causing the computer to go crashing to the floor. "My name is SPENCER!" She yelled angrily. "Now, WHAT were you looking for!?" She demanded.

"Okay, okay!" Williams yelped frightfully. "I-I w-was looking for the perfect soldier. THEE perfect soldier. The one personally created by --"

At that moment, the office door came barging open to reveal a lone guard. His eyes widened instantly when they landed on the Commander's fearful expression and in the next moment, he was already raising his gun and aiming for the transgenic.

"NO!" Williams howled out in horror before leaping off of the desk and shoving the X-5 out of the way. However, she wasn't quick enough to save herself as she felt the bullet rip straight through her chest and out the other side. Her eyes widened, her gaze slowly travelling down to the large pool of blood that had already formed before slowly sinking to the ground.

Spencer's eyes were wide as she stared down at the redhead in shock. She then managed to glance back up to the guard, who's eyes were widened in horror at what he'd done. "Hey." She snapped, gaining his instant attention. "I won't tell, if you don't." She told him, hinting for him to make a run for it. UNLESS he wanted her to kick his ass, of course.

The guard nodded all too eagerly, his expression completely terrified. He dropped his weapon, shooting the lifeless Commander's body one last glance before darting off out of the room in a hurry.

Spencer's attention instantly snapped back down to the redhead as she heard her choke and gurgle quietly. She sighed lightly, feeling oddly sorry for the young woman. She slowly knelt down beside the redhead, who was quickly bleeding out and barely able to keep her green orbs open. "You're DONE now. Monticora's done." She told her, her voice low, but her gaze stern.

Williams managed a breathy chuckle before nodding lightly. "I guess y-you win." She croaked.

Spencer nodded. "Why did you do that?" She asked referring to the redhead's little heretic act.

Williams smiled fondly up at the X-5 as she slowly reached a hand up, ghosting her fingertips over the side of perfect soldier's face. "You're... The one we've been looking for... The perfect soldier..." She whispered. "Sandeman..." She added, choking up a fair amount of blood now.

Spencer's frowned as her mind flashed back to what Joshua had told her.

"...Father..."

"...Sandman..."

"Find... Sandeman..." Williams gasped with one last breath before finally passing...

...Spencer hurried back through the forest, blurring in and out of tree. And when she finally reached the top of the hill, she paused to look back at the exploding chaos. And of course, she had made sure that no one was left behind, even briefly catching up with Joshua as he helped his little brothers and sisters.

Spencer simply stood there, taking a few moments to take in what had just happened. She had finally done it. She had finished the mission. Monticora was destroyed, finally and she was now finally free. Along with the rest of her family. And then, after a few more moments, Spencer's lips slowly widened into a triumphant, little smile before she finally turned around and carried on running for her freedom...

...To her horror, when Spencer made it back to Ryan and Jacky's apartment, she found Jacky's lying unconscious in the kitchen and Alec no where in sight. "Shit! Jacky!" She exclaimed, rushing over to him and kneeling down beside him. She slowly reached forward, gripping his shoulder and shaking him lightly. "Jacky, wake up." She urged him, her voice soft, but firm.

"Ugh..." Jacky groaned quietly before beginning to stir. "That little bastard..." He grunted, slowly reaching up to clutch his aching face.

Spencer sighed quietly in relief, also managing a small smile. "Thank fuck." She muttered to herself before leaning over and helping him to sit up.

Jacky groaned again, wincing as he touched his purple bruised cheek. "Are you okay?" He asked her as he let his eyes check her over for any signs of injury.

Spencer shot him an slightly incredulous look. "I'm fine." She replied quickly. "What about YOU?" She ask, shooting him a pointed look.

"Oh, I'll be fine." Jacky said with a cocky smirk.

Spencer rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smirking, too. "What the hell happened, anyway?" She asked with a curious look.

"Pretty boy got loose when I went to pee..." Jacky explained with a sheepish grin. "He did that weird fast blur thing you guys do and grabbed the gun from me before giving me THIS," He pointed to the bruise on his cheek. "Lovely parting gift."

Spencer couldn't help chuckling in amusement. She wasn't all that concerned with Alec right now. She was free. And that's all she cared about right now. Well, besides Jacky... And Gabby, too. 'I REALLY fucking miss that miserable bitch...'

"So," Jacky said, noticing the slightly glum expression in her dark orbs. "What happened?" He asked, arching a painfully curious brow at her.

Spencer smiled slowly. "I did it... I FINALLY did it..."

Jacky's brow rose further.

Spencer's smile slowly widened. "I destroyed Monticora. Burned to the ground. I'm finally free, Jacky. We're ALL free." She explained with a gleeful grin, her eyes twinkling with excitement.

Jacky looked rather shocked, to say the very least. "You mean... It's finally over?" He asked with a hint of a smile. "No more running or fighting? You can just... Hang with your friends... And... Be with me?" He asked, his blue orbs filling with hope.

Spencer smirked smugly. "Yeah... I guess I DOES mean that." She agreed. She chuckled when his blue orbs lit up instantly. "But not tonight, English." She told him, shooting him a disappointed, but clearly mocking pout.

Jacky shot her a confused and slightly disappointed look in return.

"I'm gonna go see Original Gabby tonight. Let her know that I'm okay." Spencer explained.

Jacky nodded, shooting her an understanding look. He knew the two women were as close as sisters. "Right. No, of course... I, uh, I didn't know what to tell her, so I just said that I didn't know where you where or what happened to you, either." He told her, knowing that she had always tried to keep certain things away from her best friend.

Spencer nodded, shooting him a grateful smile. "Thanks."

"No problem." Jacky replied with a small smile. "Uh, how about dinner? Tomorrow night?" He asked, shooting her another hopeful look.

Spencer smiled and nodded. "I was hoping you'd say that." She replied, her smile widening into a little grin.

Jacky shot her a grin back. "Great. Say around, 7:00?"

"Sure." Spencer nodded as she slowly helped him up onto his feet. "Gotta jet, but I'll definitely be here." She told him, unable to keep from smiling. Seriously, her cheeks were inning to ache slightly from smiling so fricking much. 'Well, I have a lot to smile about.'

Jacky nodded. "Y'know that things are different now, Spencer."

Spencer shot him a slightly curious look.

"Back when you first escaped Monticora, it was just the 13 of you. And now, there are a whole lot more out there." Jacky noted, shooting her a slightly concerned look. He knew how violent people got when they were scared and how they were afraid of things that were new or misunderstood. So after all, maybe Spencer wasn't really free. He frowned slightly, looking deeply troubled by that thought.

Spencer nodded. Of course, she understood completely what he was implying. "Well, if they're smart enough, they'll lay low." She said, only somehow, she had a feelings that things were going to be that simply. Especially not when considering Joshua's appearance or any others like him.

"You don't want it getting around that you and yours are out in the world." Jacky said, looking more worried than the transgenic herself. "People tend to be afraid of things that are different... Just... Keep your head down, Spencer." He told her, shooting her a slightly pleading look.

Spencer nodded. "I always do." She said, shooting him one last smile before making her swift exit...

...Spencer had to make one last stop before returning to her old apartment to see Gabby; the Seattle Space Needle.

She hopped out of the window, still dressed in her Monticora uniform. Making her way across the surface of the needle, she glanced down at the city, her broken, but beautiful city and smiled to herself.

'Funny how from up here, it looks like nothing has changed.' She thought. 'Only... EVERYTHING has changed. Not just Jacky and I... EVERYTHING... And the entire time I was trapped back at Monticora, all I wanted was my strange little life back... I just never figured it could get any stranger... But I guess it's gonna get even stranger... And I guess I'm just gonna have to deal with that.'


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer nodded, wearing a scowl as she briefly checked her nails; still grubby and shorter than usual. "Nope. Monticora had no respect for the girly arts. So, I just HAD to torch the place." She added that last part with a casual shrug before going back to shaving her legs.

Original Gabby was rudely awakened by a loud roaring sound, echoing through her entire apartment. She sat up, her blue-green orbs widened in fear until she registered the all-too familiar noise. Instantly, she threw the covers off of her legs and leaped out of her bed. She rushed over to her bedroom door and ripped it open only for her eyes to land on her best friend. "Spencer..." She whispered, staring at the younger woman in utter shock.

Spencer stood there, leaning against her motorcycle. "Did ya miss me?" She chirped, wearing a large grin.

Gabby finally snapped out of her stupor and immediately lunged for the transgenic girl, throwing her arms around her shoulders. "Thank God you're alive, boo." She mumbled, breathing a huge sigh of relief as she held her tightly.

Spencer smiled fondly as she pulled her own arms up around her best friend and hugged her just as tightly...

...Spencer smiled happily to herself as she continued to shave her legs on the edge of the bathtub. "Ugh, I've been waiting to do this for years." She half joked, half grumbled out.

Gabby smiled in amusement as she leaned in the open doorway to their shared bathroom. "I see that they don't let you do your nails up at Monticora, either." She noted, motioning to the transgenic girl's hands.

Spencer nodded, wearing a scowl as she briefly checked her nails; still grubby and shorter than usual. "Nope. Monticora had no respect for the girly arts. So, I just HAD to torch the place." She added that last part with a casual shrug before going back to shaving her legs.

Gabby nodded. "No doubt." She agreed with a small grin. "Monticora and Them got all irate, 'cause Ryan Eyes Only put salt in their game." She added, her grin widening slowly.

Spencer chuckled lightly and nodded. "Oh, yeah." She agreed.

"And then they sent YOU to take the brotha out?" Gabby asked, wearing a small, but confused frown.

Spencer nodded absentmindedly as she washed off her dirty razor blade. "Yep."

"But instead, you burn the place down AFTER letting everybody out?" Gabby asked. There was something missing here.

Spencer shot her best friend a small grin and nodded. "Well, they pissed me off. So, yeah." She said, her tone casual as she began to wash her legs under the cold bath-tap.

Gabby smirked, finally realising the big secret. "Right." She said. "But see, I think that Monticora sent you to kill Jacky AND Ryan, 'cause one of 'em is Ryan Eyes Only... Or BOTH of 'em." She suggested lightly, though, her smirk had widened considerably.

Spencer arched a brow at her, pretending to look confused. "Jacky and Ryan? The bored, rich kids?" She asked, her tone laced with sarcasm. "Puh-lease!" She scoffed.

Gabby rolled her eyes, still smirking widely. "Straight up, boo." She nodded. "Now it ALL makes sense to Original Gabby. Especially seeing as how you and Jacky were ALWAYS off doin' stuff on the down-low."

Spencer scoffed again. "You've got it ALL wrong."

"Shugga, don't front." Gabby told her, shooting her best friend; her sister a pointed look. "I mean, you been foolin' around with Ryan Eyes Only... Gimme some." She grinned, walking over to the transgenic girl and holding up her fist.

Spencer hesitated for a brief moment before finally giving in. She held up her own fist, bumping it with her best friend's and then shared an amused chuckle with her. "But you can't ever tell anyone." She said, her tone slightly serious now.

Gabby nodded, shooting her best friend a sincere expression. "I've already forgotten. You have got Original Gabby's word on THAT."

Spencer nodded, shooting her best friend a grateful look. "A LOT of people want them both dead." She explained, her expression quickly morphing into morbid concern. "And I almost got them killed... I almost got Jacky killed." She mumbled out gloomily.

Gabby sighed softly. "It's gonna be all okay, boo. It's ALL good." She said, merely trying to reassure her.

Spencer bit her bottom lip, feeling slightly uneasy. "Yeah, but it doesn't FEEL all good. It doesn't even feel a LITTLE bit good." She admitted.

Gabby slowly sat down on the edge of the bathtub and slung her arm around the back of her girl's shoulders for comfort. "Somehow, some way, it's all gonna come correct. 'Cause you and Jacky just got it like that. NOTHING can keep you two apart... Now, you're home, you're safe and you're strong... And boo, you just kicked Monticora out onto the cold, hard curb, for good." She added that last part with another wide grin.

Spencer smiled slightly and nodded in agreement. 'Yeah, at least there's THAT...'

"They can't hurt you anymore, Spencer." Gabby told her, wearing a more serious expression now. "They can't hurt ANYONE anymore. It's over now."

Spencer nodded. Though, she couldn't help, but wonder.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I didn't fake my own death." Spencer retorted, shooting him a rather offended look. "I had a medical emergency and then a whole bunch of therapy to get through it." She stated as a matter of fact, her town rather snooty.

"You sure about this, boo?" Gabby asked, looking slightly concerned as she followed her best friend down the all too familiar alleyway.

Spencer smiled reassuringly and nodded. "I just want everything to go back to normal. And that includes going to work." She added with a mocking wince of disgust.

Gabby frowned slightly, still not convinced, but nodded anyway.

Spencer finally spotted the entrance to D-Jones Messengers Service and halted abruptly. "So..." She mumbled, feeling slightly nervous all of a sudden. "What should I tell everyone?" She asked, shooting her best friend a rather helpless look.

Gabby smiled softly at the transgenic girl. "Let ya sister handle this for ya, babyboo." She chimed, placing her hand gently on the younger girl's shoulder. "Original Gabby's gonna get out in front of this bitch." She added with a grin before walking towards the wide open entrance.

Spencer stared after her for a couple of seconds before letting out a calming breath and following quickly after her.

"Hey, everybody! Look who's back from the dead!" Gabby announced loudly as she sauntered carelessly into the building.

Spencer slowly sauntered in behind her and smiled sheepishly.

"Holy shit!!" Craig exclaimed, his eyes widened, along with the rest of the employees.

"No way!" Omar said.

"Yo! Welcome back, Speedy!" Robson yelled out, saluting her with his usual mischievous grin.

Spencer smiled at each one of her co-workers as they each passed by her, greeting her and welcoming her back. After the other workers had all passed her, she smiled over at her closest friends as they all bounded over to her.

"Oh, my fucking GOD!! Hug me, you fucking bitch!" Ronnie snapped before launching himself at her and squeezing her tightly.

Spencer chuckled quietly when he finally let her go, allowing her to breath normally. "Hey. I missed you guys so much. Even YOU, C-Dog."

"Hey!" Craig snipped, shooting her a playful glare.

Spencer smirked in amusement. "Hell, I even missed grumpy, ol' Der-Bear." She added with a little grin.

Craig quickly leaned over and hugged her before stepping back. "This is a most joyous turn of events." He stated with a wide and happy grin. "Now, WHERE the fuck have you been?" He asked, looking more serious.

Thankfully for Spencer, Derek finally decided to appear from his office in that moment. "Well, well, well! Lookie who's back." He chimed, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he plodded lazily over to his usual suspects.

Spencer smirked as she slowly turned around to face her old boss. "What can I say, Derek? The rumours of my death have been GREATLY exaggerated." She chirped all too sweetly.

"Yeah, right." Derek muttered with a roll of his eyes. "Hot run, people!" Her called out, holding the small package up. "Morningside and Everclear." He added, only to be ignored once again.

"Got my name on it." Spencer piped up, shooting him an innocent expression.

Derek scoffed loudly. "Uh, no. No, YOUR name is mud, missy-miss!" He told her, shooting her a pointed glare. "And I've heard some REAL lame excuses for missing work, but faking your own death for 5 years is a new low."

"I didn't fake my own death." Spencer retorted, shooting him a rather offended look. "I had a medical emergency and then a whole bunch of therapy to get through it." She stated as a matter of fact, her town rather snooty.

Derek scoffed loudly again. "Yeah, right. Sure you did." He drawled out, clearly disbelieving her. "Well, would you care to explain a little more?" He asked her snootily, clearly challenging her story now.

Spencer nodded, smirking lightly. "I had to have a heart transplant." She explained simply. Obviously, she couldn't tell him why. Even if it was the truth. AND even if he believed her, that was.

Derek immediately burst out laughing at that one, clearly amused and still disbelieving. "Yeah, okay. That's a really good one, missy." He chirped, now humouring her. "Have you got a note from your doctor? Or a prescription for your medication? Or perhaps a small bottle of cyclosporine? Or maybe --"

Spencer finally shut him up by lifting her shirt up to reveal the faint, but still rather large, but now very faint silver scar stretching up between her bra-clad breasts. 'SO glad I decided to wear a bra today.' She thought, smiling smugly at his expression.

Gabby's eyes widened before she quickly reached up to cover both Ronnie and Craig's equally widened orbs. Although, Craig quickly reached up, tearing his friend's hand away and smirking triumphantly when his eyes landed on the little peep show.

Derek chuckled sheepishly, slowly backing away. And he was REALLY grateful when she quickly pulled her shirt back down, because he really couldn't tear his own eyes away. "That's a nice, big, uh... Scar you got there..." He muttered, his eyes now on his Converse.

Spencer chuckled. "Yeah, well, enjoy it while it's still fresh in your memory, 'cause you ain't seein', again." She told him, shooting him a suggestive, but clearly teasing grin.

Derek eyes widened briefly before letting out a nervous cough and turning away from her.

Spencer smirked in amusement, her smirk only growing at Gabby, who grinned back. Spencer snatched the package from Derek, earning a slight glare. Though, she ignored him when she felt her cellphone vibrating in her pocket. "Can I use your phone? I'm all outta cred'. Thanks."

Derek glared after her. "It's like she never even left."


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So, the genetically superior walk among us."

Spencer quickly dialled Jacky's cellphone number on the phone at the front desk and smirked in amusement to herself when Derek glared at her as he walked passed her. And just as usual, Jacky picked up on the third ring. "Hey, English. Me hittin' you back here. What's up?"

...Jacky stood in front of his living room T.V., wearing a slightly concerned expression as he listened to the anchor-woman reading out the latest news.

\-- "The red-hot embers cool and the death toll rises after Monday's tragic blaze at a remote mountainside veteran's hospital." --

Jacky shook his head before answering his cellphone. "Yeah, hey. Are you seeing this crap on channel 3?"

...Spencer frowned slightly before answering. "Hang on a sec'." She said before calling out to her friends over in the lounge. "Yo, C-Dog! Hook me up on 3."

Craig nodded over at her before reaching for the T.V. controller and switching the channel.

\-- "Channel 3 News has now learned that the inferno is the result of arson, traced to the rogue terrorist group, S1W." --

"Monticora." Spencer mumbled to herself, the phone still glued to her ear.

"Yeah." Jacky replied. "Only, they're saying it's a V.A. hospital and that the S1W are responsible for burning it down."

Spencer frowned, feeling slightly confused now. "So? Is that a bad thing? And what's the S1W?"

"It's a progressive group -- fighting the good fight." Jacky explained. "They're into direct action, which is why the government is trying to make them out to be terrorist."

Spencer sighed lightly. "Well, better that people think some crackpots torched a V.A. hospital rather than what actually happened." She pointed out. She really didn't understand why he was taking this so personally. Surely he wasn't one of these S1W weirdos. 'Could he really be that rich and bored?' She thought as she absentmindedly watched the lounge T.V.

\-- "In an earlier act of aggression, the S1W held hostages in the V.A. facility just last month." --

Craig scoffed loudly at that. "This is total bogus!" He exclaimed. "Ryan Eyes Only said that this place was just a front for that Monticora place." He stated, earning a few murmur amongst the other workers as they, too, watched the news feed intently.

Gabby merely rolled her eyes. "Shut up, fool!"

Craig glared at her, but did as he was told.

"They're claiming that A LOT of people died in that fire." Jacky explained. "And the S1W is being framed. Besides, you said you got everyone out."

"Yup, I got 'em all out." Spencer replied. "And there's nothing I can do about this S1W thing. Why do you care so much, anyway?"

...Jacky glanced over his shoulder, his eyes landing on a worried looking Tessa as she paced around his kitchen. "Uh, well, a friend of mine is involved." He explained. "She's helped out with some Ryan Eyes Only stuff over the last couple of years. So I kinda owe it to her..."

...Spencer rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling to herself. "Always gotta help a damsel in distress." She teased, earning a light chuckle from him. "Sure, whatever. I'll swing by after work."

"Thanks, Spencer. I really appreciate it." Jacky replied sincerely.

Spencer smiled to herself. "No problem. Later, Vincent." She chimed before hanging up. She then sauntered over to her friends, who were still in the lounge area, watching the news.

\-- "The death toll is expected to rise as volunteers continue to search through the wreckage." --

"Oooh! Mutants on the loose!" Craig chimed, clearly amused by the situation.

Gabby and Ronnie glanced briefly to Spencer, wearing a slightly concerned expression.

"So, the genetically superior walk among us." Craig said. Though, he was only half joking. 'If this shit is real... It's SO fucking cool!'

Gabby rolled her eyes at the stoner. "You're an idiot. Even IF that shit is true, the news lady said that everybody died in the fire." She said, shooting him a 'duh' look.

Craig smirked. "Yeah, well, we all thought Speedy here," He said, gesturing towards Spencer. "Was dead, too. And yet, here she is. Good as new." He chirped, shooting the transgenic girl a goofy grin.

Spencer couldn't help, but smile back. Even if she still thought he was an idiot. "I gotta blaze." She said, shooting her trio of friends one last grin before walking off to deliver some packages. For once...

...Jacky quickly switched the T.V. off and walked back into the kitchen.

"Jacks, you gotta talk to Ryan Eyes Only." Tessa stated with a pleading look. "Make him get the truth out their about the S1W."

Jacky sighed lightly. Sometimes he wished he could just tell Tessa that Ryan Eyes Only was the same Ryan that he was best friends with, but he knew he couldn't risk putting her in that danger. The only reason Spencer knew was because she was smart enough to figure it out herself. And he knew she could take good care of herself. Well, better than an 'Ordinary' Tessa could. "I can't MAKE him do anything, Tessa." He told her, both pointedly and apologetically. He knew that Ryan had a lot more important things to do other. The only reasoned he'd helped Spencer out was because he knew how much she meant to Jacky. And Ryan always clearly had a soft spot of his own for the transgenic girl. Especially after helping out Silver as well as helping out on a whole bunch of other missions for them. Though, at first, Jacky knew Spencer had only agreed for her own personally gain of finding her siblings.

Tessa sighed loudly, looking rather frustrated now. "Jacky, they're trying to pin this on us, 'cause of that job we pulled at V.A. office last month. And that was a favour to YOU." She reminded him, shooting him a stern, pointed look. "Just please... Talk to him, at least. Because now, WE need a favour."

Jacky let out a tired sigh before nodding. "I'll see what I can do."


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "There is it." The leader stopped just inside the clearing, his eyes glued to the flickering signal stretching across the night sky. "The rendezvous signal."

They were children. But they were STILL soldiers. And as soldiers, the small group of young transgenics stayed together and get walking. Being trained to keep moving in enemy territory, to keep moving was all they could do. At least, until their Commanders came to rescue them.

"Come on," The eldest of the small group piped up, mainly motivating his unit to keep going. They had been walking for hours on end, making sure to stick to the forest for cover, but eventually, even transgenics became worn out. "We need to keep moving. They'll be looking for all of us to remobilize."

There were a few tired grunts, but no retaliation as the others continued to follow their adopted C.O. And then, few minutes later, the group made it into the next small clearing and it wasn't long before they finally found what they had been looking for.

"There is it." The leader stopped just inside the clearing, his eyes glued to the flickering signal stretching across the night sky. "The rendezvous signal."

The others let out a sigh of relief, each sharing a small smile.

The leader smiled to himself before turning back to his group. "Let's move out, soldiers..."

...It had taken the group a few more hours to trudge back through the forest. However, thankfully for their aching limbs, by the next morning, they'd reached the edge of the forest just as the Sun was rising. They followed their male C.O. towards the clearing and stopped just at the edge, now facing a long metal bridge over-looking a large river. Each of them paused, their vision zooming in on the group of men dressed in a uniform none of them recognised, all standing in a line beside the large, black HUMVEEs. And all armed.

The second eldest, a female of the group glanced nervously to the eldest male. "I don't know about this, 314. Something feels off here." She stated rather timidly. Monticora had always trained them to listen to their instincts and hers were telling her to escape and evade immediately.

"You saw the signal. We all did." The male replied, shooting her a pointed look. "We're supposed to regroup." He said before walking towards the bridge.

The others quickly followed behind him as did the female, though, reluctantly. She just didn't want to be left alone, though. She quickly darted to his side. "But the other night... The fire... No one came to let us out of the barracks until that X-5 '07 escapee showed up and opened all the doors for us." She stated, merely trying to make a point in return.

The male simply rolled his eyes before replying. "Did you ever think that MAYBE they were too busy trying to defend the facility?" He asked, his voice laced with sarcasm as he kept walking down the bridge, the others still shuffling after him. "Monticora was under attack." He said, shooting her another pointed look. "By who, we don't know. But obviously Command is still in place." He said, motioning towards the men standing down the other end of the bridge. "Otherwise, there wouldn't have been a signal.

The female glared back at him now, starting to get annoyed. "But when we jumped the perimeter fence, the T.A.C. leaders were shooting at us!" She hissed.

The male sighed loudly in frustration. "Not at US." He ground out through gritted teeth. "They were trying to protect the perimeter. We just took some friendly fire. That's all. Now, shut up and fall in line, soldier." He ordered sternly as they came closer to the men.

The female huffed, but found it was too late to continue arguing as they stood before the armed men. She stood to attention in line, between the others and forced herself to remain calm.

The male took a step forward, standing in front of the man dressed in the long, black trench coat. "X-6-314 reporting for duty, sir!" He announced with a salute.

The other transgenics all followed their C.O.'s lead, all silently saluting their new Commander.

'Where's Williams? This REALLY doesn't feel right...' The female transgenic thought as she stared at the man in front of them with uneasiness.

The man in the trench coat and the black turtle-neck nodded curtly back at the male teen. "At ease, soldiers." He told them, wearing a rather calm and friendly expression.

The female transgenic glanced warily between the man and his armed men, catching their subtle and silent communication. And she was glad that she wasn't the only one who had.

The male transgenic glanced over to her, shooting her a confused look.

The man in the trench coat shot the teens one last smile before nodding towards his men, who raised their fire-weapons and aimed for the doomed transgenics...

...Meanwhile, on the boarders of Seattle, Alec had found himself a pretty nice set-up in a small room at the No-Tel Motel. After he'd escaped from Spencer's 'British Lover-Boy,' Alec had made his way back to Monticora, only to find that it was already burning down. He'd gone back, of course, made sure that no one was left behind to burn before getting his ass as far away from the mess and chaos as possible. He was never one for trouble, unless it couldn't be avoided and he also knew that the Oridinaries would come looking and he really didn't want to be around for those new set of problems.

So, now, here he was, lying on his stomach, half naked, his eyes glued to the small TV. And he wasn't alone. Of course, he'd heard about pubs and bars and nightclubs, so he'd checked a few scenes out the previous night. And of course, Monticora had designed their soldiers to be perfect, both mentally and physically. So of course, he'd attracted a lot of female attention. And even a few males. And so, somewhere along the way, he'd taken one of those 'lucky' girls along for the ride and ended up here, in this motel. And actually, one of the less dingy motels in the middle of nowhere.

"This is so cool." The half-naked blonde purred from beside him.

Alec felt her fingertips ghosting over his barcode on the back of his neck and shivered slightly (the barcode being very sensitive, for whatever reason, he'd never bothered to think about). He shot the ditzy, young blonde a wide grin before turning his full attention back to the T.V., watching his first movie ever; Pulp Fiction -- a pre-Pulse movie.

"Does it say how much you cost?" She asked, giggling lightly as she nipped at his earlobe.

"A LOT more than YOU, sweetheart." Alec chirped, shooting her a cheeky smile.

She scoffed loudly, giving him a playful shove.

Alec chuckled lightly in amusement, his eyes then quickly drifting back to the movie. 'Oh, shit! That is one O.D.ing bitch!' He thought, his eyes widening slightly when Vincent stabbed the needle full of adrenaline into the woman's heart.

"So, is it a gang thing?" The blonde asked, staring curiously at his 'tattoo.'

"Damn. You guessed my secret." Alec hissed playfully, grinning at her, though, still watching the movie and only paying half of his attention to her. It was times like this that he was very talented at multi-tasking.

"So, how come you're not out gang-banging, then?" She asked, shooting him a curious look.

Alec finally tore his eyes away from the T.V. and grinned over at her. "Well, 'cause sometimes a guy can have a lot more fun on his own... Or with some one on one company..." He added that last part with a suggestive little grin.

The blonde smirked back at him and rolled her eyes, but couldn't help giggling. "So, you're on the lam?" She asked with a slightly teasing tone.

"Oh, well, aren't YOU intuitive." Alec chirped, pretending to look impressed.

The blonde simply grinned, looking slightly excited now.

"Hey, uh," Alec quickly reached behind him for his jacket and pulled out a few 50 dollar bills. "Why don't you go grab us some food, huh?" He suggested, handing the bills over to her. "Maybe some apple pie... Or cherry pie... Or ANY sorta pie, really."

The blonde smiled widely and nodded. "Okay!" She chimed before snatching the money and hopping off of the bed.

"Okay! Wonderful! Take your time, baby." Alec chirped, his eyes darting back to the T.V....

"...The No-Tel Motel? ...What's a motel?"

The group of transgenic teens glanced between one another, then staring over to their C.O.

The redhead female simply shrugged at them. "I don't care. All I know is that I am I'm starving." She groaned, her eyes drifting over to the blonde woman walking towards the small lit up corner shop.

"Me, too." The second oldest male agreed, staring longingly over at the building.

"If I don't get something to eat in the next few minutes... I swear, I'm gonna kill someone." The female stated seriously as she grasped her aching stomach.

"But they're not just gonna GIVE us food." The oldest male piped up, shooting their female leader a pointed look. "Not without money, anyway."

The female rolled her eyes at him before zipping up her gray hoodie and pulling the hood over her head. "I don't care. I'm going in."

The other three quickly followed after her, all pulling their hoods up as they walked into the store. They glanced around, checking out the cashier, who was busy reading a magazine rather than paying any attention to his store. Thankfully, the store was vacant, except for the blonde woman who was busy looking at the shelved bottles of alcohol.

The oldest male reached out for one of the cereal boxes and glanced curiously at it. "A barcode..." He mumbled, glancing at the barcode on the box curiously.

"What does it mean?" The youngest male asked, also glancing curiously down at the barcode, trying to read the random numbers.

The leader smirked and grabbed the box before tucking it into her hoodie. "It means it's OURS." She mumbled before reaching for a few more items and doing the same.

The three males glanced between one another briefly before following her actions and shoving everything and anything they could fit in their hoodies or their pockets.

"HEY!!"

The transgenics all froze at the loud yell of the clerk.

"What the fuck!? You little shits! Think you can just come in here and rip me off!?" The clerk yelled, holding up a rather large shot gun and aiming straight at the four teens.

The female smirked at the Ordinary before blurring forward and effortlessly tearing the weapon out of his grasp. In one swift motion, she flicked the gun and had it aimed at his throat.

The blonde woman's eyes widened when she caught a glimpse of a barcode tattoo on the back of the armed female transgenic's neck.

"Get all the money you have!" The female transgenic ordered, jabbing the gun into the clerk's chest. "NOW! Move it or I WILL blow your head off!" She yelled angrily. She aimed the gun towards the roof before firing once and then aiming the gun at his forehead...

...At the sound of nearby gunfire, Alec instantly jumped out of bed and back onto his feet for the first time in 14 hours now. He quickly calmed his nerves before darting towards the window. He pulled the curtains aside, his bright orbs instantly landing on a group of young teens piling out of the motel store.

Alec instantly recognised their Monticora uniforms and let out a tired sigh. "Great... That's just great."


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What the hell is THAT?" Way asked, staring at the creature in utter disgust.

At his base of operations -- an encampment in the woods nearby the Monticora's (burned down) facility -- stood the man with the black turtle neck and the long trench coat. Gerard Way stood in the headquarters; a small tent filled with computer monitors and various other hi-tech equipment. A few of his men flitted around him, doing whatever tasks they were assigned to while a few of the others sat in front of the computers, controlling the entire operation, by Way's orders, of course.

"Sir," Ray Toro -- Way's second in command and childhood best friend -- piped up.

Way glanced over to his right-hand man. "What is it?" He asked with an impatient sigh.

"Possible sighting -- Echo Golf 4278." Toro replied.

Way seemed to perk up considerably upon hearing the news. "How many?" He asked, stalking over to computer monitors.

"Six." Toro replied as his fingers tapped away at the keyboard.

"Alright." Way nodded with a tired sigh. "Send a unit over to check it out." He ordered just as his cellphone began to ring from his coat pocket.

"Yes, sir." Toro replied with a nod before reaching for the handheld radio. "Boys, this is Control..."

Way drowned his voice out as he reached for his cellphone and answered.

"Way."

Way froze for a split second, cursing loudly in his mind. He then took a deep breath before answering his boss. "Yes, sir..." He said, then listening carefully to the man's every word. If there was one person he didn't want to make enemies with, it was the cruel man on the other end of the line right now. He then nodded to himself before being allowed to speak finally. "Of course, sir. We WILL handle it. We don't want local law enforcement getting involved... I understand, sir -- the idea is to keep this little mess under wraps..." He scoffed lightly. "Well, tell them they can shove their stupid jurisdiction up their rings." He then chuckled at his boss quip. "Yes, sir. I understand. This is strictly a federal matter... Thank you, sir." He replied before hanging up finally and shoving his cellphone back into his coat pocket.

"Sir!"

Way glanced over to Darren -- one of the 'computer geeks' -- as Way like to call them. "What?" He asked, arching an expectant brow.

"The tally on the rendezvous signal." Darren explained, pointing to his computer screen. "38 transgenics showed up at the rendezvous point over the last 13 hours."

Way arched a brow, looking rather impressed this time. "Not bad." He commented.

Darren smiled goofily at his boss.

Way rolled his eyes. "Keep the signal running every night, until they stop coming." He ordered. Of course, he knew how smart these 'freaks' (as he loved to call them) were and eventually, he knew they would figure out that there was no home left to go to.

Darren nodded. "Yes, sir!"

Way swirled around when he heard a fourth person enter the tent. He glanced at his soldier, shooting him his usual expectant look.

"Sir," The soldier looked rather timid as he gripped the metal briefcase in his arms. "Uh, you might wanna take a look at this."

Way nodded and gestured to his desk set up in the corner of his tent. "Put it over there. I'll take a look when I have a moment."

The soldier looked as though he was about to protest or maybe insist. But when his boss shot him a stern glance, he quickly shuffled over to the desk and placed the briefcase on top before walking back out of the tent.

A moment later, the tent flap-door opened to reveal a couple of X-7 soldiers escorting reptilian-looking man, his wrists handcuffed to the chain on his waist. The young X-7s held onto either side of the lizard-man. He didn't seem to be struggling, though he had fought hard against the X-7s before. But now, he seemed to be glancing at his surroundings curiously, a low clicking sound also emitting from his throat and his scaly orbs blinking rapidly.

"What the hell is THAT?" Way asked, staring at the creature in utter disgust.

"Whoa..." Toro uttered, slowly rising from his seat and staring at the creature in utter amazement. "Uh, it looks like something Monticora may have cooked up to fight in severe desert conditions." He explained after snapping out of his stupor. "Uh, the skin looks as if it's designed to retain moisture in high temperatures." He added, slowly stepping closer to the creature to get a better look.

The lizard-man glanced between the two men, his large, yellow orbs then lingering curiously on the man with the large, fuzzy hair. 'Just because I can't talk the way you can, doesn't mean I don't understand.' He thought with slight amusement. 'Silly Ordinaries.'

Toro smiled slightly to himself, noticing the slight change of expression in the creature's large orbs. He realised that this amazing lizard-man could probably understand every word he was saying. "It's the same with his nose." He carried on explaining, glancing curiously back at the creature. Though, he was still stood behind him boss, just in case. "He even has the second eyelid to protect the cornea against sand and grit."

"Well, that's just brilliant." Way drawled out, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "I hate to think just how many of THESE rolled off the assembly line." He said, still staring at the creature with a less than impressed expression.

Toro frowned slightly, but he knew better than to share his own opinions. Even IF Gerard was his best friend. Which meant that he knew how ruthless the man could truly be. Especially if he wanted something. He would stop at nothing.

"The boys here bring it in?" Way asked, motion to the teenage X-7s with a rather impressed look.

Toro nodded, glancing towards the younger transgenics. "Yes, sir. They are X-7s. Monticora used them to guard the perimeter under any circumstances."

Way nodded in acknowledgment. "Yeah. I read all of the reports on these cookey place." He said with a light chuckle and an amused glint in his dark brown orbs. "They've got some weird hive-mind thing going, right?" He asked, glancing curiously at the X-7s, who just stared blankly back at him, waiting for their next orders.

Toro nodded. "Yes, sir. They communicate ultrasonically, in digital codes. We have the equipment set up for translations."

Way nodded. "Very good, Ray." He commented before glancing back over to the lizard creature. "Ship it out on the next transport." He ordered, his eyes staring right into the creature's. "I want forensics to take it apart for analysis." He added with a small smirk.

The lizard-man's eyes seemed to narrow slightly back at the cruel Ordinary before he'd finally had enough. The creature suddenly stretched his arms, effortlessly breaking the chains on his handcuffed wrists. Then, in the next moment, he'd leaped forward, grabbing the man by the neck and hauling him up, letting his feet dangle.

Way gripped the transgenic's wrists, both struggling to breath and fight against the strength of the creature.

In the next moment, the X-7s quickly lunged into action, both grabbing creature's arms and tearing his scaly hands off of their Commander's throat.

Toro's eyes widened as he scrambled back, out of the way.

The X-7s threw the lizard-man to the ground before reaching for their taser-guns.

The lizard-man howled out in pain as they X-7s prodded and electrocuted him until he could take no more. A few moments later, he finally fell unconscious, his body going limp on the floor.

Toro, eyes still wide, stepped timidly towards his boss. "S-sir... A-are you okay?"

Way growled loudly as he hauled himself back up onto his feet. He instantly then lunged for the unconscious transgenic, kicking the limp corpse hard in the ribs. "NO! Get it out of here! NOW!" He roared, clearly outraged.

The X-7s quickly reached down, grabbing an arm each before dragging the lizard-man back out of the tent.

Way let out another angry growl. "Fucking FREAKS!!"


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Okay, what part of, 'They're trying to kill us all', are you not understanding, exactly?" Alec asked sarcastically, arching a brow down at him.

After spotting the group of teenage transgenics, Alec knew that whoever was sending out the rendezvous signal would probably be arriving here at any moment. He wasted no time, gathering his issued Monticora clothes up from around the room and slipped out of the bathroom window. Before the blonde 'what's-her-name' could come back. Before the enemy -- whoever they were -- could show up and find him instead. He darted towards the nearby forests surrounding the building from a few yards behind, just as he heard the all too familiar HUMVEE engines roaring even louder. He paused, sending one last glance to the black-op-looking soldiers piled out of the vehicles, scattering around the building...

...Only a few minutes later of lazily wandering through the forests, Alec stopped abruptly when he heard a creasing sound. He glanced down, lifting his right foot up to see an empty snack-food bag. "Cheesy Doritos. Nice." He commented before walking on, following the oh-so blatant trail.

After a few more minutes, he spotted a single Dorito chip a few feet in front of him, laying abandoned over the dead leaves and wet grass. He glanced up upon hearing the distant sound of voices and immediately spotted a small clearing in the heavy brush. He stalked forward, carefully, silently. Though, he already had an idea of who he was tracking.

'Stupid kids. They're gonna get themselves caught.' He thought as he pushed himself through the bushes and into the clearing. He glanced forward, spotting an old, worn down looking barn sat in the middle of the small clearing, an old, rusty, broken down tractor sitting abandoned outside the double set of wooden doors. He listened for a moment, noting that he could no longer hear any voices. And then, with a shake of his head, he marched towards the barn...

...Inside the old, abandoned barn, the group of transgenic teens were scattered around, some perched on large bales of hay and others simply squatting on the cold, hard floor. But all were without a care in the world at this moment as they literally shoved all the junk food they possible could into their starving mouths.

From the ajar door, Alec smirked in amusement as he watched them before casually strolling into barn. "Daddy's home!" He announced with a cheeky grin as he came to stand in front of them all.

In unison, the younger transgenics all scrambled to their feet and stood to attention in one perfect line.

"X-314, sir!" The oldest male of the group spoke up first, saluting the C.O.

Followed by the second eldest, the blonde female (who had wielded the shotgun to save them all from going hungry for yet another night.) "X-6-787, sir!"

And then followed by the third eldest, a female. "X-6-603, s -- "

Alec held up his hand in dismissal. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever." He mumbled. "At ease, children." He stated with a look of humour.

The transgenic teens, not noticing his tone, simply did as they were told, placing their hands behind their backs.

Alec rolled his eyes and let out a tired little sigh. "What were you idiots thinking, huh?" He asked, wearing a rather scornful look, like a father would with his children. "Knocking over a little, old motel-mart." He shook his head, clearly displeased with their actions.

The transgenic teens all glanced between one another, some looking confused.

"Sir?" 787 asked, quirking a questioning brow at his superior ranking officer.

Alec rolled his eyes again. "I had a VERY sweet deal going on," He explained, smirking slightly to himself as he remembered the sexy blonde he'd shared his night with. "And you dick-wads ruined it." He stated, now glaring in annoyance at the younger transgenics. "What the --" His gaze finally snapped over to the far left corner of the barn, finally noticing the X-7 standing silently, staring out of the small window. "What the hell is THAT doing here?" He couldn't help feeling a little creeped out by the whole 'hive-mind' thing these little weirdos had going on.

This time, 603, the young female brunette spoke up. "He escaped the attack with us, sir." She explained, glancing over her shoulder to the odd transgenic.

This time, it was Alec who stood confused. "Uh... The attack?" He asked, arching a brow for explanation.

The second eldest male spoke up this time. "On Monticora, sir."

"Command has been re-established, sir." 787 said. "Just last night, we saw the signal to regroup." He explained with an excited smile and a glimmer of hope in his dark blue orbs.

The blonde female spoke up this time. "The rendezvous point is about 6 kilcks from our exact and current location, sir, southwest. We were just regrouping before heading out."

Alec let out a loud and tired sigh. "Soldiers," He began, feeling slightly sympathetic for them now. "I hate to break it to you, but... Monticora WASN'T attacked."

"What are you talking about?" 787 asked, looking deeply confused, as were the others.

"They tried to fry us all." Alec explained simply.

Once again, the younger transgenics glanced between one another in confusion.

"Uh, s-sir?" 787 asked once again.

Alec rolled his eyes yet again. "They are trying to KILL us, okay? The signal is bogus; it's a trap." He explained as slowly as possible, hoping to get through to their brainwashed minds. He really couldn't believe he used to actually think the same way. Well, until he saw Rachel for the first time. He frowned slightly as her name passed through his mind.

"Uh, sir, if I may..." 787 said. "That doesn't make any sense whatsoever. We are valuable military assets, representing billions of dollars in R and D." He stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the entire world.

"Why would they want to get rid of us?" The blonde female asked, looking slightly appalled.

"Well, I JUST met you and I ALREADY wanna get rid of you." Alec said, shooting her a pointed look.

"Enough of this!" 787 snapped. "I'm sorry, sir, but they're waiting for us to regroup." He stated snootily.

"Okay, what part of, 'They're trying to kill us all', are you not understanding, exactly?" Alec asked sarcastically, arching a brow down at him.

"With all due respect, sir, but officers of rank superior to yours have left standing orders for us all to regroup when instructed to do so." 787 stated before standing in front of the others and taking charge.

Alec scoffed, but couldn't help smirking in utter amusement. "Well, far be it from ME to violate the chain of command." He retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm once again.

787 simply ignored him before addressing his unit. "Fall in." And when the did so, he glanced expectantly back over at the cocky X-5.

Alec simply stood there. "You're REALLY gonna do this?" He asked with an breathy, but amused chuckle.

787 simply rolled his eyes, knowing there was no way he could beat the X-5. He was a trained assassin and 787 had barely even finished Psyche 101, let alone even trained to be assassin material; a true weapon; a perfect weapon; a perfect soldier.

"Whatever." Alec shrugged lazily. "On YOUR own heads be it." He chirped, yet again looking rather amused.

787 ignored him, still, his gaze snapping over to the odd X-7. "Didn't you hear me, soldier!?" He barked.

Alec glanced over at the X-7, who stood un-animated, his back to them all as he continued to stare out of the window. "Oh, he heard you. He just can't believe his Batman ears." He said, letting out another amused chuckle.

787 let out a loud huff, looking rather flustered and intently aggravated. "I'm going to have to report the BOTH of you!" He snapped, glaring between the two.

Alec snorted loudly, still highly entertained. "Yeah, okay. You do that, kid."

787 shot him one last glare before turning to his unit. "Left fact!" He ordered.

The transgenics turned left, now facing the door of the barn.

"Quick march!" 787 called out.

Alec chuckled to himself and shook his head as he watched them march out of the barn in single file.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "So," Spencer piped up. "You said that you had something I needed to see?" She asked, shooting him a rather suggestive (though, teasing) expression.

The first day back at work had gone rather well for Spencer and much to her boss' dismay, it really was as if she had never even left. Although, as usual in Spencer's strange, little life, there was always something going on. Something that the transgenic girl would rather NOT be doing.

Nonetheless, after Spencer had finished her shift at 3:30, she made her way straight over to Ryan and Jacky's apartment on her messenger's bicycle. As usual, Spencer let herself in through the front door, leaning her bike against the wall. She then ventured down the hallway, stepping into the only door wide open; Ryan's office. She spotted Jacky sitting at the desk with his back to her and couldn't help smile at the mere sight of him. "Hey, English." She piped up, leaning casually in the doorway.

Jacky jumped slightly, then swirling around his chair to face his little visitor. His bright, blue orbs landed on her dark, chocolate pools and he automatically smiled at the sight of her. "Hey, yourself." He greeted. "How was your first day back at work?" He asked with genuine interest.

Spencer's smile widened in amusement slightly as she sauntered slowly over to him. "Not as bad as I thought it'd be." She admitted. "Derek didn't look too happy to see me. But other than that..." She trailed off, concluding with a lazy shrug.

Jacky chuckled lightly. "I've only met the man twice, but he DOES seem slightly... Miserable?" He tried, arching a brow at her.

Spencer snorted lightly. "Yeah, that's ONE way to put it. Craig just think he needs to get laid every now and then." She added that last sentence with a humorous grin.

Jacky smirked, clearly amused. He'd met this Craig guy a bunch of times. And while he thought the guy was slightly dim, he was surprisingly rather lighthearted and down to Earth.

"So," Spencer piped up. "You said that you had something I needed to see?" She asked, shooting him a rather suggestive (though, teasing) expression.

Jacky cursed himself mentally as he felt his pale cheeks flush heavily. He arched a brow, attempting to ignore the heat and her taunting gaze. "Actually, I do. Have a seat." He replied smoothly, turning in his seat and grabbing the computer mouse.

Spencer smirked to herself, both thinking of how amusing and adorable the British man really was sometimes. Especially when at other times he could be so compassionate and even slightly possessive. Nonetheless, she loved it all, every single thing about him. She watched him for a moment more before plopping down into the wooden chair that he'd already pulled out for her. "So, what's goin' on in the concrete jungle today?" She asked, glancing between the beautiful Ordinary and the computer screen.

"Well," Jacky began as he began to type away at the computer keyboard. "Apparently there's been massive military action going down in the woods surrounding Monticora." He explained with a slight, troubled frown.

Spencer nodded, already knowing what was going on. "Yeah. The same thing happened back in '07, when we escaped." She told him, seeming rather calm about the entire thing. "But by the time They got their act together, we were LONG gone." She added with a smug smirk.

Jacky's frown deepened as he paused his fingers and turned to look at her. "Yeah, but there's a difference, Spencer -- you and your siblings escaped, because you wanted to get the hell out of there." He pointed out. "But the others all ran for their lives the other night. They had no idea of what was going on. And they STILL may not know that Monticora now want them all dead."

Spencer scalded herself at that. How had she not even thought of that!?

Jacky noticed her change of expression, but decided not to bring it up. Somehow, he felt that he knew exactly what she was thinking. "Does this mean anything to you?" He asked, reaching back to the mouse and pulling up a window of footage. "I got it from an informant who lives out that way. He's a REAL conspiracy buff, obsessed with UFOs and stuff." He explained as he glanced at the screen.

Spencer glanced to the screen, her eyes taking in the footage of a large twinkling ball of light drifting across the night sky. "Yeah." She nodded. "It's a signal from Monticora. We were trained to look for it in case the facility was ever compromised."

Jacky nodded in acknowledgement. "Well, what does it say, exactly?" He asked with another troubled from when he noticed her mood lower even more.

Spencer kept her eyes on the blinking light as it danced slowly across the sky, standing boldly out among the stars. "Regroup... Echo Golf... 427952... Friday..." Her eyes widened then. "Today." She whispered before instantly rising back to her feet.

With his exo-skeleton in tact, Jacky was immediately on his feet behind her. "Spencer, where are you going!?" He asked. Though, he already knew the answer.

Spencer paused by the open doorway and glanced back at him. "Jacky, They tried to kill them. And NOW, They're trying to finish the job." She said, her dark orbs filled with rage.

Jacky could understand where she was coming from, but it didn't stop him being scared shitless of losing her. AGAIN. "You don't know that for sure." He pointed out, though, clearly trying to stall her. "They could just be loading them up and shipping them off to a new facility." He said, though, he wasn't even convinced of that himself.

"See, that doesn't work for me, neither." Spencer stated, wearing a defiant scowl.

"Fine." Jacky let out a defeated huff, his expression showing annoyance. "You wanna just swoop in and save the day? Then, what's your plan?" He asked, clearly humouring her.

Spencer simply shrugged. "Don't know yet." She replied before turning back around and walking down the hallway.

"Spencer!" Jacky growled, then quickly jogging after her. "Spencer, wait --"

Spencer paused just before the front door and turned to face him once more. "This is all happening because of ME. I forced them all to leave." She said, her voice cracking slightly as she glanced up at him. "Jacky, they're my family. ALL of them... And some of them are real screwed up. Some of them don't look like you or me or anything anyone has ever seen before... But it's ME who is responsible for them, all the same."

Jacky let out a tired sigh before finally nodding in agreement. "Just come back. PLEASE." He told her, his mind flashing back to that fateful night he told her the very same thing.

Spencer mustered up a small smile and nodded before reaching for the front door...

...Spencer rode her motorcycle down the main road leading into the forests surrounded Monticora's burned down facility. And then when she reached the bottom of the metal bridge overlooking the large river, she skidded to an abrupt stop. Keeping her engine running, she glanced downed the other end of the bridge, her pupils growing and her vision zooming in. She spotted the large, black HUMVEEs and the crowd of armed men dressed in black. Her eyes then widened when she spotted the small group of transgenic teens coming out of the forest and heading right towards the soldiers.

"Shit." Spencer muttered, then instantly lifting her foot from the break-pad. She sped straight down the bridge, going as fast as her precious baby would allow her. In all of the commotion, a few of the soldiers swirled around and began to fire at her.

Way growled loudly in anger. "Get rid of them. ALL of them!" He roared before leaping into the nearest HUMVEE.

Spencer sped up and then drifted the rest of the way, turning her bike and herself to the left and barging straight into the couple of soldiers who were firing rounds at her. As the soldiers went down, she stopped between the others and glanced towards the transgenic teens before yelling: "RUN!!"


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'd kick your ass, but I don't have time to right now." Spencer said, merely rolled her eyes before slipping off of her saddle. "It's okay, we're gonna get you all fixed up." She told the whimpering mess that was 787. She reached an arm around his waist and lifted him over her shoulder before carrying the wounded teen into the barn.

The transgenic teenagers' eyes widened in fear as they watched the armed men raise their weapons at them. The teens recognised the female transgenic riding in on the motorcycle and the second she had yelled at them to run, they did so. Turning on their heals in unison, they began to run for their lives.

787 fell behind the others, making sure the youngest of his unit got to safety first. Then, the next thing he felt was a shot to the back on his right leg. He let out a loud yelp of pain before sinking to his knees. "GO!!" He yelled to the few who glanced back to him.

Spencer put her foot down on the pedal, speeding passed between the last couple of men and knocking them both over in the process. She halted beside the wounded X-6 and reached down, grabbing him by the scruff of his hoodie. Yanking him up effortlessly and plopping him down on the saddle behind her, Spencer then rode off into the forest, leaving the chaos behind...

...Meanwhile, back in the old, abandoned barn, Alec had decided to hang out for a little while longer. Seeing as how his cover at the motel had been blown because of those stupid kids. And they had left a few packs of unopened Doritos laying around, which the X-5 helped himself to.

Alec perched on top of a bale of hay, chewing loudly on each cheesy chip of goodness. And as he sat there, just munching away, he stared boredly over at the weird X-7, who was now staring vacantly back at him rather than out of the window. Though, other than to turn away from the window, he had not moved at all. "Hey, weird kid," Alec piped up with one of many bored sighs. "Want some hydrogenated imitation cheesy products?" He asked casually, lifting the bag of Doritos in emphasis.

The X-7 merely continued to stare back at him in silence.

"Okay." Alec chirped with a shrug. "More for me." As he dug his hand back into the now near empty packet, the doors to the barn burst open. At once, the X-5 was on his feet, the junk food completely forgotten as he glanced to the intruders in alert. And when the transgenic teens flooded back into the barn, Alec let out a small sigh of relief upon seeing who it was.

"Sir!" 603 exclaimed, rushing over to Alec when she noticed he was still there. "Sir, you were right -- it was an ambush!"

"They shot at us!" 314 roared, his eyes wide as he glanced to the X-5.

Alec rolled his eyes and was about to reply with a very deserved 'I told you so', until he heard the sound of a loud engine hissing in the very nearby distance. He shot the younger transgenics a glare as he rushed over to the ajar doors. "If you idiots let them follow you here..." He trailed off immediately when his eyes landed on the familiar brunette perched on top of the black Ninja motorcycle with 787 sitting on the saddle behind her. "Oh, well, that's just great." He muttered, mostly to himself. Even though he was relieved that it wasn't dangerous unwanted company. Though, it was still unwanted company.

"Is it them, sir?" The blonde female asked, appearing beside the older transgenic and peering out of the crack between the doors.

"I wish..." Alec mumbled, letting out a tired sigh as he watched the motorcycle pull up outside.

Spencer glanced up towards the barn doors, spotting the all too familiar face of her brother, though, not her brother himself. "Alec?" She arched a brow as she killed the engine of her bike. "What the shit are YOU doing here!?" She asked, looking utterly confused. To be honest, she never thought she would actually see him again.

Alec smirked as he opened the doors for her. "I was actually about to ask YOU the very same thing."

"I'd kick your ass, but I don't have time to right now." Spencer said, merely rolled her eyes before slipping off of her saddle. "It's okay, we're gonna get you all fixed up." She told the whimpering mess that was 787. She reached an arm around his waist and lifted him over her shoulder before carrying the wounded teen into the barn.

Alec darted over to her motorcycle and wheeled it into the barn behind them. He leaned it against a stack of bales of hay before darting back over to the doors to close them back up.

Spencer hurried over to the nearest bale of hay and carefully laid the teen down on his back.

The other teens quickly gathered around their wounded fellow soldier, the short, brunette female grasping his shoulder for support as the youngest male held his hand the other side, the small trumpet still grasped tightly in the youngster's free hand. Whereas the blonde female looked rather queasy as she took a step back from the entire scene.

"Shit, he's going into shock." Spencer hissed as 787 began to shake violently. "Get me something to tie his leg off with." She ordered calmly as she reached down and tore the right leg of his camouflage pants, revealing the small bullet hole in his flesh.

The blonde female's face paled even more as she stood frozen in place. 'He can't die... He just CAN'T...'

Alec quickly reached for his belt, slipping it from his waist. "Looks like the bullet went right through. He's lucky." He noted as he handed the belt over.

"Yeah, but I'm gonna have to cauterize." Spencer noted as she grabbed the belt and fastened it tightly around the bottom of the teen's thigh.

"What the hell happened!?" 809; the brunette female exclaimed in a panic. "Why were they shooting at us!?" She asked, her dark orbs darting between the two X-5s.

Spencer ignored everything around her, focussing solely on the wounded teen. "Get me something to keep him warm and something to cauterize the wound with." She ordered, still keeping her calm.

"I think I'm gonna be sick..." The blonde female muttered as she darted off to the other side of the barn to do just that.

Alec couldn't help chuckling to himself as he watched after her. "I bet THAT one flunked Field Med'." He commented as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small switch-blade and a lighter. He then used the flame to burn the end of the blade for 30 seconds. "Okay, go." He said, handing her the blade quickly.

Spencer grabbed it from him and turned back to the teen. "Okay, kid, I'm not gonna lie -- this is gonna REALLY hurt." She told him, shooting him an apologetic look.

787 managed to glance back up at her as his entire body continued to shake. "Do it." He gritted out before bracing himself.

Alec immediately grabbed the teen's shoulders and held him in place. As did the other couple of teens, who held 787's arms firmly to his sides.

Spencer nodded, grabbed his leg in her iron-grip and without any other hesitation, she plunged the tip of the burning metal into the bloody wound. She pressed firmly down, earning a verse of loud howls of pain and watched his flesh sizzle, but finally seal closed.

787 continued to yell out at the top of his lungs, struggling against their hold, but failing miserably.

"Hang on, hang on..." Alec mumbled, trying to comfort him slightly. "It's almost over..."

787 let out one last scream, almost make the entire barn shake.

"Okay, okay, it's done." Alec said, giving him a small clap on the shoulder. "You're gonna be okay now."

"Yeah," Spencer let out a tired sigh, handing the bloody blade back to the other X-5. "They'll be okay, so long as we get them outta here. And soon."

Alec glanced at his blade in disgust before wiping it off on the hay and shoving it back into his pocket. "Uh," He suddenly realised what she'd actually just said and arched a brow over at her. "What'd you, 'WE'? This is YOUR party, NOT mine."

Spencer glared back at him now. "You selfish son of a bitch!" She snapped. "Fine. Go! I don't need you."

"Not true." Alec retorted with a smug smirk. "But okay."


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "D.N.A. work-up of an X-5." Way replied. "And not bad-looking." He noted as his eyes trailed to the small I.D. photo at the bottom of the screen. "Well, for a freak, anyway." He added with a sadistic smirk.

Way had been having one of the slowest days ever and after this mornings chaos, he was a man on the very end of his tether. "Okay," He began, his voice smooth and rather calm. He turned to face the soldier behind him; one of his men. "Help me to understand just HOW a girl on a motorcycle got the drop on us this morning." He said, glancing expectantly now.

"It's hard to explain, sir. You were there --"

Way nodded. "THAT, I was. So, HOW did none of you idiots not see this bitch coming?" He retorted, his voice now rather agitated.

"But sir," The soldier began, wearing a nervous expression. "It all happened so fast that --" He stopped and glanced up to the entrance of the tent when the flaps opened.

Way's angry orbs snapped over to the intruder. "What is it, Ray!?" He barked impatiently.

"Sorry to interrupt, sir." Toro said, walking over to his boss' desk. "But I REALLY think you need to see what's in there. Immediately." He explained, motioning to the silver briefcase still sat untouched on top of the desk.

Way let out an annoyed huff. "And WHY'S that?" He chided, arching a brow over at his second in command.

"Because it was retrieved from the Monticora site, sir." Toro explained. "AND it belonged to Director Williams." He added, knowing that the name would get his boss' attention.

As predicted, Way's expression perked up considerably. "Well, in that case..." He trailed off, glancing back to the soldier still standing to attention in front of him. "Out!" He barked. "I'll deal with this little fuck-up later."

The soldier merely nodded timidly before hurrying out of the tent and leaving the two men to their privacy.

Way sauntered slowly over to his desk and reached down to open the briefcase. Inside, he found a few small stacks of floppy disks and CD disks all roped together. "The database." He noted with a pleased look. "Good."

Toro stood beside his boss, grabbing a few of each of the stacks of disks. "I'll get to work on these. They're probably encrypted."

Way simply nodded, because then, there was one thing that caught his attention. He reached into the case, picking up the flat computer, his eyes then widening slightly when he opened the computer.

"What is it, sir?" Toro asked, noticing the change of his boss' expression. He looked to be somewhere between pleased and annoyed. But then again, that was always just Way.

"D.N.A. work-up of an X-5." Way replied. "And not bad-looking." He noted as his eyes trailed to the small I.D. photo at the bottom of the screen. "Well, for a freak, anyway." He added with a sadistic smirk.

Toro chuckled before peering over his boss' shoulder. His eyes landed on the photo before then widening instantly. "Sir, that's her!" He exclaimed, tossing the disks aside and grabbing the flat computer from his boss.

"Who's her?" Way asked, looking completely lost now.

"Sir, THIS is the girl we encountered on the motorcycle this morning." Toro explained, his eyes glued to the screen in utter amazement.

Way's eyes narrowed as he glanced back to the photo of the young woman. "You're sure?" He asked, his voice calm, but incredibly low.

"Yes, sir! Absolutely." Toro replied quickly with an assuring nod.

"Then don't just stand there, Ray!" Way barked. "I want her brought in. ALIVE."


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer smiled, an idea suddenly springing to her mind. "And now that you are all out in the real world, I think YOU should all have names, too." She chirped brightly.
> 
> Alec snorted with a roll of his eyes. "Oh, for the love of --"
> 
> "Shut up!" Spencer snapped, shooting her a brief glare. "Unless you want me to start calling you 'Dick'." She added with a smug smirk.

While they still had a place to lay low and while there was time to do nothing, Spencer explored the barn a little, finding an old, abandoned pick-up truck behind a few of the larger baled stacks of hay. She walked around to the front, pulling of the few bales of hay stacked on the bonnet. She then lifted the hood up and quickly assessed the condition of the vehicles motor. Arching a brow to herself, she nodded, pleased that it wasn't as beaten up as she had predicted.

On the other side of the barn, Alec sat on the floor, his back leaning against one of the wooden beams leading up to the top deck. With the X-7 still stood at the window, now just opposite his position, Alec had long since given up trying to talk Spencer out of her crazy ideas. Instead, he sat back, his hands digging into the last bag of salted popcorn. The X-7 stared vacantly back at him as he would toss a piece of popcorn over at the younger transgenic every now and then, out of mere boredom.

Spencer shut the hood of the pick-up truck and sauntered towards the other transgenics. She paused for a moment, merely watching them. Her eyes drifted to Alec, an annoyed frown pressing against her forehead when she saw him throwing popcorn at the poor (but still rather odd) X-7 kid. She then glanced over to the teens, her eyes lingering on the short-haired, brunette female, her gaze curious as she watched the girl fiddling around with an old and broken radio. She glanced over to the male who had been shot and was pleased to see him already waking up, his wounded leg already healing up nicely, too. She noticed the blonde female standing right beside her fellow wounded soldier, helping him to sit up and couldn't help smiling fondly at the two. Her gaze then shifted to the youngest; a male. He couldn't have been any older than she was when she first escaped Monticora. She frowned slightly, seeing his slightly concerned expression as he quietly observed his surroundings. He sat on one of the bales of hay, beside the brunette female, his small, golden trumpet still grasped tightly in his little hands.

After a few more moments, Spencer finally decided it was time to get down to business. If they wanted to get out of this alive, they had to have a plan. Just like Monticora had always taught them, as much as they pained Spencer to admit. "Okay," Spencer piped up, walking into the center of the barn. "Fall in."

Immediately, the four teens were on their feet, standing to attention in a perfect line. However, Alec stayed where he was, continuing to toss pieces of popcorn at the X-7 for mere sport and entertainment.

Spencer rolled her eyes at the other X-5, but mainly ignored his presence, as she had been for the last hour. "Okay, people," She began again, standing in front of the teens. "There has a been a change in your mission -- extreme and unforeseen." She stated with wide eyes.

The teens exchanged slightly confused expressions.

"You have been betrayed by your own command." Spencer continued.

The teens then all seemed to glance at one another in horror.

"So, what do you do, now?" Spencer asked, arching an expectant brow at them.

Instantly, the teens replied in unison. "Redeploy, ma'am!"

Spencer smiled and nodded. "Correct." She said, shooting them a pleased look. Something they probably weren't used to, rather than the constant yelling they were subjected to. Among other things, terrible things. "HOW do you redeploy?" She asked, arching her brow at them again.

The teens then hesitated and then glanced cluelessly at one another.

Then, it was 787 who answered, as the blonde female helped him to stay standing. "Unknown, ma'am." He responded, shooting her a rather helpless look. "We have no training with regard to such a circumstance."

Spencer grinned and nodded. "Yep! And do you know what THAT means?" She asked, glancing expectantly between then once again.

"No, ma'am!" The teens chorused.

"It means that ALL of your training is forgotten immediately." Spencer stated.

The teens glanced at one another in confusion and hesitation, but followed her orders anyway. So far, she had saved their lives and given them no reason not to trust her. "Yes, ma'am!" They chorused again.

Spencer nodded. "Starting with your blind obedience to Monticora and all it represents." She added pointedly.

"Yes, ma'am!" The teens chorused once again.

Spencer let out a frustrated huff. "Which means that you're going to STOP calling me 'ma'am' and starting calling me 'Spencer'." She told them, shooting them all a stern scowl.

"Yes, ma'am!" They chorused blindly, again.

Spencer glared at them. "'Yes, Spencer!'" She corrected with a bark. "THAT'S my name."

The teens glanced at one another in confusion yet again.

Spencer smiled, an idea suddenly springing to her mind. "And now that you are all out in the real world, I think YOU should all have names, too." She chirped brightly.

Alec snorted with a roll of his eyes. "Oh, for the love of --"

"Shut up!" Spencer snapped, shooting her a brief glare. "Unless you want me to start calling you 'Dick'." She added with a smug smirk.

Alec merely rolled his eyes again. "Whatever." He grumbled, turning back to his near-empty bag of popcorn. But that was okay -- he still had one last pack of cheesy Doritos.

"Now," Spencer continued, smiling brightly back at the teens. "You HAVE to stop thinking of yourselves as soldiers, and start thinking of yourselves as people instead." She told them, shooting them all a rather fond look. As most stuck-up, over-confidant transgenics went (like Alec), these kids weren't all that bad, she thought.

"But," The youngest piped up, still clutching his trumpet. "We ARE soldiers." He said, staring curiously up at the beautiful woman. She sure did have the prettiest face he had ever seen.

"You mouthing off to me, halfpint?" Spencer asked calmly, quirking a brow down at him. "'Cause if you are, I usually have zero tolerance for that, but seeing as you're SO adorable," She shot him a cheeky smile. "I think we're gonna have to call you Cupid."

The young transgenic smiled slightly. "Cupid..." He said, testing the name out.

Spencer nodded and smiled. "Okay, Cupid, you're on sentry duty. But don't leave the barn, just stand inside the doors." She told him with a stern, motherly expression.

Cupid smiled back up at her and nodded. "Yes, ma -- yes, Spencer."

Spencer chuckled quietly to herself as she watched the youngest transgenic bounding off towards the doors of the barn, his trumpet still under his arm.

"This is completely ridiculous." Alec murmured from his spot on the floor, now with the bag of Doritos in his lap.

"Shut up, DICK." Spencer chided before turning to the brunette. "I saw you messing around with that old radio over there." She motioned the radio laying in a heap a few feet away.

809 nodded. "I excelled in diagnostics and repair. I was trying to salvage it."

Spencer smirked. "Okay, then that'll be your name; Salvage."

"Salvage?" 809 asked, contemplating the sound of the word. "Hmm, I guess... It sounds..."

"Badass." Spencer stated, shooting her a smirk. "See if you can do something with that old pick-up truck back there." She said, pointing towards the larger bales stacked nearer to the back of the barn.

Salvage smiled and nodded eagerly before darting off.

Spencer moved along to the next teen and somehow managed not to burst out laughing. "You're the girl who threw up."

Alec snorted loudly in amusement. "You could always call her 'Ralph'."

"Ralph?" The blonde teen smiled slightly. "...I like it."

Spencer smirked, clearly amused as her fellow X-5. "But it's a boy's name." She noted, shooting the girl a pointed look.

The blonde frowned slightly. "...I still like it..." She grumbled with a slight pout.

Spencer simply nodded at that. "'Ralph' it is, then." She concluded, earning a relieved smile from the blonde teen. "You can take care of Bullet." She added with another amused smirk.

787 and Ralph glanced at one another in confusion. "Who's Bullet?" They asked in unison.

Spencer chuckled before answering. "You." She said, glancing at 787. "The kid who got shot."

"Oh... Okay!" Bullet grinned and nodded.

"What about the little oddball? Doesn't HE need a name, too?" Alec asked sarcastically, motioning to the X-7, who was now staring back out of the window.

Spencer merely shot him a smirk. "I think I'll leave that to YOU, Dick. Since you two seemed to be getting along SO well."


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Way's eyes narrowed into thin slits as he grabbed the empty briefcase and tossed it across the tent in a fit of rage. "MOTHERFUCKER!"

Hetfield had a plan. It was a very simple plan. It was just whether he could pull said plan off without a hitch or not that was really bothering him the most. But he felt like this was something he needed to do. He wanted to amend for what happened that fateful night, to make it up to Spencer, to Zack, to Valary, to every last one of his precious children. But he also wanted to do this for himself, so that at least he could point to one thing and think of how proud his beloved would have been of him for doing so.

Driving along in his beat up, old SUV, Hetfield finally pulled slowly up to the gates of the encampment he had been searching the last hour for. He stopped just outside the closed gates, rolling his window down as one of the two armed guards approached. Before the soldier could even open his mouth, Hetfield beat the young man to it. "Where's Way, soldier?" He asked, shooting the man a look that told him not to even bother testing his patience.

However, the guard shot him a rather cautious look before answering. "Uh, sir," He began, his tone polite. "This is a restricted area --"

Hetfield interrupted quickly as he reached a hand into his jacket pocket. "Tell him that Hetfield's here to see him." He ordered, showing the guard his I.D.

The guard let out a little sigh of frustration. "Sir, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to --"

"Save it." Hetfield grumbled. He killed the engine of his vehicle, shoving the keys into his pocket before getting out and slamming the door behind him.

"Sir, I really --"

"Sorry, soldier." Hetfield said, brushing passed the young man. "But this is VERY urgent."

The guards glared after him, the one who had spoken then grabbing his handheld radio. "Command, this is Grimes... There's someone here to see Way. Say's his name's Hetfield. And I think he may be from Monticora..."

...Storming his way had been the first part of Hetfield's plan, it had been the easy part. Now, all he had to do was find what he was there for and then get the hell out of there as fast as he possibly could. And now, alone inside Way's tent, it hadn't been hard to spot -- seeing as how it was the biggest. Though, he was thankful that Way and his men seemed to be otherwise deployed from their encampment. For now, anyway. He had to work quickly if he wanted to get out of there alive.

Hetfield made his way over to the many computers and other various machines set up, his hands quickly sifting through the stacks of disks left laying around. He grunted in annoyance, not finding the object of his desire. Turning around, he glanced around, his eyes narrowing slightly with intrigue when he spotted the silver briefcase left on the large desk in the corner of the tent. In a hurry, he shuffled over, grabbing the briefcase and snapping it open. He peered inside, smirking in triumph when he finally found the data disks he was looking for; the most important of Monticora's information and set-up. He grabbed the disks eagerly, shoving them all into any pockets he could find on his person. He then made to shut the briefcase back up, but paused, his eyes finally noticing the silver flat computer lying there.

Curious, he reached for the computer, opening it up. Then, his eyes widened in shock and utter amazement at what he saw. A few moments then passed as he stood there, just staring down at what he had just found. 'I don't believe it...' He thought incredulously. 'That redhead little bitch actually did something good and useful... Monticora actually did something good and useful...'

...Way found that things had just been going from bad to worse for him for these past couple of days. And obviously, he REALLY wasn't a happy man. "The idiot identified himself!? What the actual fucking fuck was he thinking!?" He snapped angrily, marching back through his camp with Toro and his following quickly behind him.

"He said it was urgent that he spoke with you, sir." Grimes replied, marching right beside his Commander. Guns drawn and ready to aim, the group of soldiers slowly entered the control tent.

However, still angry, Way stormed in after them, his own handgun drawn and ready to fire. He glanced around as his men searched the empty tent. Slowly, he lowered his weapon, his eyes then landing on the closed briefcase still perched on top of his desk. Narrowing his eyes, he slowly approached his desk, just as slowly opening the briefcase.

"Sir?" Toro slowly approached his boss.

Way's eyes narrowed into thin slits as he grabbed the empty briefcase and tossed it across the tent in a fit of rage. "MOTHERFUCKER!"

...Later that night, Jacky was still waiting to hear from Spencer. So when his cellphone began to vibrate on his desk, he quickly swooped it up. "Hello?" He asked, obviously expecting to hear his girl's voice.

There was a long pause on the other end of the line before any response. "It's Hetfield."

Jacky let out a disappointed sigh. "How did YOU get a hold of this number? It's private." He retorted snootily.

Hetfield let out a tired sigh before replying. "Never mind that, Vincent. I need you to get me in touch with Spencer, immediately." He stated with an all too serious edge to his tone.

Jacky's eyes narrowed a little further. "What for?" He asked cautiously.

"I'm sorry, son, but I can't tell you that, for your own safety." Hetfield replied. And he actually did sound rather regretful for it. "Do you know where she is right now?" He asked, sounding a little more urgent.

Jacky hesitated for a few seconds, contemplating on whether or not to answer truthfully. He finally let out a defeated sigh before replying. "I don't know her exact location, but she's somewhere in the woods surrounding Monticora."

Hetfield grunted. "Then He'll be looking for her, already" He said, though, more to himself.

Jacky frowned in confusion. "'He'?" He asked. "Who's he?"

"If you hear from her," Hetfield paused with one last tired sigh. "Tell her to get out of there as fast as she possibly can."

Jacky's frown deepened into a concerned expression as the line went dead...

...Hetfield stared down at the brightly lit flat screen in his lap, his eyes glued to the photo of Spencer. He had been searching his entire life for her; the perfect soldier. And now he had found her, he really hadn't the first clue of what to do about it.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Don't call me that, Dick." Spencer retorted, smirking slightly when he glared back at her. "And figures that you'd forget the one actual good thing that Monticora ever taught us all -- NEVER abandon your unit." She stated with a pointed look and an irritated edge to her tone.
> 
> Alec simply chuckled at that, his eyes flickering briefly over to the teens, who were staring at the two arguing X-5s. "Well, thanks to YOU, there IS no Monticora anymore."

Later that evening, everything was set up for the rendezvous signal. Way stood with the couple of soldiers who were in charge of the machinery and waited impatiently, but silently, at least. After what happened today, he was clearly still angry. And though he had mastered many, many things over the years, controlling his emotions was most definitely NOT one of those things.

"The satellite's in range, sir. Broadcasting as of now." Grimes piped up, glancing at his boss over his shoulder at his boss.

Way nodded in approval, though, his annoyed expression did not change. "Good. Keep it up until they stop flocking in..."

...Meanwhile, back in the old, abandoned barn, Spencer stalked quietly around, checking up on the younger transgenics as they slept. She smiled softly upon seeing Ralph cuddled up to Bullet, her arm thrown loosely over his chest, while his arms encircled her waist. She glanced over, seeing Cupid curled into Salvage's left side, his hands still clasping his trumpet tightly as her arms holding his small form protectively.

While Alec had gone out on patrol, just to make sure they were still safe for the night, Spencer finally took a seat on a bale of hay by the resting teens. She glanced curiously over to the X-7, who was now staring vacantly back at her, though, he still hadn't moved from his spot by the window.

The X-7 slowly turned away, glancing out of the window and calling out to his unit ultrasonically. He called once and then twice, sensing them nearby in the surrounding forests. He then glanced over his shoulder, back at the X-5.

Spencer stared back at him, a little frown of confusion flitting across her face. 'What is he doing?' She thought. 'Weirdo...'

The X-7 stared back at her for a few more seconds before turning his gaze back to the window and finally smirking smugly to himself...

...The next morning, Spencer still hadn't slept a wink. But that was okay. She still had that shark D.N.A. handy. Then again, the X-7 hadn't slept, either. Although, she knew that bats slept in the day. Yet, he still hadn't slept anymore than she had.

Bullet felt a whole lot better this morning. He'd had a good rest, feeling safe enough with Spencer and Alec standing guard. His leg wound had also healed considerably, though, he was still wobbly on his feet.

Ralph darted to his side, lifting his arm over the back of her shoulders. "You've got to keep the weight off of it. You're still not completely healed." She stated, shooting him a deeply concerned look.

"I'm fine, Ralph." Bullet insisted, shooting the blonde a reassuring smile.

Ralph simply nodded and smiled sheepishly, then taking a step back from him.

Spencer smirked knowingly to herself as she watched the two teens from a far. In her distraction then, she jumped in shock when the sound of a trumpet began to erupt. Her eyes widened as they landed on the youngest of the transgenics, who was playing the loud instrument. In a second, Spencer darted over to the youngest and snatched the golden trumpet from him. "What're you doing?" She asked, shooting him a look somewhere between shock and confusion.

"X-8-621 is ready to commence training, ma'am!"

Spencer chuckled softly, handing the instrument back to him. "Your name's Cupid, remember? And I'm Spencer." She reminded as she ruffled his short, brown tufts of hair affectionately. "And there's not gonna be any training today." She added with a smile.

Cupid glanced up at her, looking rather bewildered. "There's not?"

Spencer's smile widened as she shook her head. "Nope." She replied happily. "Not ever again."

Cupid's eyes widened a little in excitement. "Really!?" He asked, sounding somewhat awed by the mere thought.

Spencer nodded, still smiling at the adorable transgenic. "Really, really." She confirmed. "You don't have to take any orders anymore. Not from anyone."

"Even from YOU?" Cupid asked, arching a curious brow up at her.

Spencer scoffed lightly. "ESPECIALLY not from ME." She replied with a grin.

Cupid simply smiled back and nodded.

Alec chuckled in amusement as he slowly sauntered over towards the barn doors, pulling his waist-length, black, leather jacket on as he went. "Well, when the going gets cute," He chirped, reaching for the doors. "The tough get going."

"You're actually leaving?" Spencer chided, shooting him a glare as she sauntered over to him.

"Afraid so, gorgeous." Alec replied with his usual cocky grin.

"Don't call me that, Dick." Spencer retorted, smirking slightly when he glared back at her. "And figures that you'd forget the one actual good thing that Monticora ever taught us all -- NEVER abandon your unit." She stated with a pointed look and an irritated edge to her tone.

Alec simply chuckled at that, his eyes flickering briefly over to the teens, who were staring at the two arguing X-5s. "Well, thanks to YOU, there IS no Monticora anymore."

Spencer merely glared at him. She knew he was right, but he was still a selfish bastard.

Alec sighed lightly. He felt sorry for the teens, he really did. But there was no way he was going back into a cell. Not now that he'd tasted true freedom. "Look," He began, trying not to show his regret. "You're the one who got into this mess in the first place, not me... But good luck."

Spencer snorted, shooting him a look of disgust. "I don't need your luck, so hurry up and get lost." She huffed before turning away from him.


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ...Spencer darted over to the X-7 and grabbed him the scruff of his neck. "Look's like someone's been whispering out of turn." She chided as she dragged him over to the others. "Ralph, tie him up and blindfold him. We're leaving the little shit here." She sneered, shoving him roughly over towards the nearest wooden beam.

In the control tent, Toro sat in front of the computer monitors, Way standing beside him with an X-7 standing in front of him. Way quickly reached for the small photo of 457 in his pocket and held it up to show the young transgenic. "Are you completely certain that it was THIS woman in the barn with your brother and the other transgenics?" He asked slowly and clearly.

"You can see for yourself." Toro piped up with a proud grin.

Way shot him a confused look. "How?"

"I position the microphone first," Toro paused, grabbing the small microphone and clipping it onto the collar of the X-7's jacket. He then waited patiently as the X-7's black orbs wavered, the computer beeping as it picked up his silent ultrasonic language.

Way stood where he was, watching his second in command with deep curiosity.

"Okay," Toro said after typing something onto the computer keyboard. "He's downloading. The computer's translating the ultrasound signals, reconstructing a sonic image relayed to him by the X-7 inside the barn... And now I'm converting the sonic image into a digital visual."

Way stared at the screen, watching as the a digital photo of a face that vaguely resembled 457's appeared.

Toro frowned slightly. "Hmm... Lemme see if I can enhance it any more." He muttered, more to himself as he began to type away again.

Way stood, still staring at the screen as the image then sharpened considerably, forming a much better version of resemblance. "Well, that's pretty much what she looks like." He stated with a nod of approval. "Toro, assemble the troops."

"Yes, sir!" Toro nodded, quickly rising from his seat.

Way smirked to himself. "And take her alive, if you can..."

...Meanwhile, back in the barn, Bullet sat at the wheel of the old, abandoned truck that Spencer had found, while Salvage was under the bonnet. "Okay, Bullet -- hit it!" She called out, peering up from behind the hood.

Bullet nodded before twisting the wires, causing the engine to burst into life. He grinned widely, shooting her a thumbs up.

"Nice work, Salvage!" Spencer complimented, shooting the younger girl a pleased smile.

Salvage smiled brightly back. "Just give me a few more minutes to adjust the timing."

Spencer nodded. "Go right ahead."

"Spencer!" Ralph piped up, looking rather alarmed as she rushed away from the doors of the barn. "Soldiers outside!" She informed with wide eyes.

Spencer's eyes widened slightly, too, though, she managed to stay calm, like always. "Kill the engine! Get away from the windows!" She hissed.

Bullet quickly killed the engine and hopped out of the truck with Ralph's help. Salvage, however, continued to fiddle under the hood of the truck, working as quickly as she possibly could now.

Spencer ushered Cupid over to the others and then turned to the X-7, who was still standing in his spot at the window. "Hey! What'd I say!? Get away from there!" She barked, rushing over to him.

The X-7 merely smirked at her before turning his gaze back to the window.

Spencer's eyes narrowed as her mind briefly flashed back...

...Spencer frowned as she stared at the X-7s all standing silently in the forest. "What're they doing?"

Joshua listened intently, his head cocked slightly to the side. "Talking."

Spencer frowned. "But I don't hear anything..."

...Spencer darted over to the X-7 and grabbed him the scruff of his neck. "Look's like someone's been whispering out of turn." She chided as she dragged him over to the others. "Ralph, tie him up and blindfold him. We're leaving the little shit here." She sneered, shoving him roughly over towards the nearest wooden beam.

Ralph nodded, shooting the X-7 a glare before darting off in her search.

"Salvage, we gotta go! Like now!" Spencer said, shooting her a pointed look.

"Ugh! What the hell!? Why isn't it working!?" Salvage exclaimed in a blind panic as she tried to spark the wires and start the engine again.

At that moment, the windows suddenly caved in as small smoke-grenades suddenly filled the room with smoke.

"What the hell!?" Bullet barked. "Why are they using smokers!?" He asked, looking deeply confused. "I thought they wanted us all dead!"

Spencer frowned, feeling slightly confused, too. "Me, too. But come on. We need to move. NOW." She ordered as she ushered the rest of the them into the truck. "As soon as you get this thing started, you get the fuck out of here and do NOT turn back! And THAT'S an order!" She barked, shooting the four of them a stern look.

The teens glanced hesitantly at one another, but nodded anyway.

In the smoke-filled barn, Spencer darted easily around, reaching the doors just as the first two soldiers entered. Effortlessly, she took them out with a single punch to their faces before they had even known what had hit them. As a few more soldiers then approached, she quickly ducked out of the way just as they opened fire, but rather blindly. She darted into the thick smoke, running towards the largest bale of hay and hiding for the moment. The nearest soldier approached and when he got too close, she quickly took him out from behind with a kick to the back of the legs and a smack to the of the neck.

In the truck, Salvage let out a loud sigh of relief as the engine finally roared back into life. Quickly, she twisted the wires back up and gripped the wheel, ready to go. Though, for the moment, she hesitated, thinking of all that the X-5 had done for them.

"What're you doing!?" Bullet squeaked. "Go!"

"Bullet," Ralph piped up, looking as hesitant the Salvage. "We can't just leave her --"

"You heard what she said!" Bullet interrupted, shooting the blonde a pointed and rather stern look. "Salvage, move it!" He barked, clearly giving her an order.

Cupid sat in the passenger's seat, his trumpet still in his hands, but a small, sad frown adorning his adorable face. He just hoped that Spencer would be okay. He believed in her. She had saved them, protected them and given them names. And now, they were abandoning her in return.

Salvage let out a frustrated sigh, but did as she was told. Stepping on the pedal, she sped through the barn, knocking down a few soldiers along the way. As the doors neared, she only sped up, tearing straight through and taking out some of the wooden wall in the process.

Spencer smiled triumphantly to herself as she heard the truck speeding off into the forest. She then blurred towards the ladder leading up to the top deck of the barn and waited for the next soldier to approach her hiding place. To her, it was simply a game now. She had already won by getting the teens out of here and away from danger. She waited for a few moments and didn't take long for a couple of soldiers to approach the ladder. In one swift motion, she jumped back down, her knees landing hard on the backs of the two soldier's necks, causing them to fall to the ground unconscious. She then felt another presence behind her, but this time, she wasn't quick enough to react. In the next instant, she felt a hard knock to the back of her head before her entire world descended into darkness.

Grimes smirked proudly down at the unconscious transgenic at his feet, admiring his capture for a couple of moments. He then reached for his handheld radio before speaking into it. "Foxtrot One to Command... I've captured 457."


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer let out a tired sigh as she leaned casually against the left side of her cage and crossed her arms over her chest. "Great. YOU must be the new bad guy in my life."

Feeling an dull aching sensation at the back of her head, Spencer finally awoke to find herself trapped in a small metal cage inside what looked like a tent. Letting out a low groan, she slowly rose to her feet and upon taking in her surroundings, she found that she wasn't alone. Turning to her right, she saw another cage with another transgenic standing inside. Gasping loudly in shock, she took a step back in her own cage and stared incredulously at the lizard humanoid. He looked to be the same sort of creature as Joshua, only, she figured that Monticora had given the poor man a little too much lizard D.N.A. in his 'cocktail.'

The lizard-man simply stared back at her, his held tilted slightly to the side as he quietly observed her.

Spencer quickly composed herself and offered the man a small, but friendly smile. "Sorry..." She mumbled. "I, uh, I didn't know that there was anybody else in here."

The lizard-man continued to stare at her with intrigue, his two eyelids blinking rapidly as he did.

Spencer frowned slightly, feeling concerned when she noticed him swaying on his feet. "You don't look so hot." She noted, eyeing him closely.

As if he were somehow answering her, the lizard-man sucked in a large gulp of air, forcing himself to still.

Spencer's frown deepened as she watched him, unable to help feel sympathy for the poor creature. "You probably need some Sun, huh?" She stated rather than questioned. "I bet They had you all hooked up back at Monticora... Nice sandy barracks... Heat lamps..."

The lizard-man lowered his gaze from hers, not wanting her to feel bad. He knew very well who she was. She was the one who had freed them all.

Spencer's frown deepened even more still. "Yeah... Sorry..." She mumbled. She felt considerably guilty now. Who knew what other kinds of creatures needed whatever? And now that she had destroyed Monticora for good, how were the others supposed to survive? How were they supposed to adapt as well as the X-5s could?

The lizard-man glanced back up to her and gave a little shrug, as if to say; 'no worries.'

Spencer managed a small, but grateful smile. She then proceeded to glance around, searching for any means of escape. However, something caught her eyes, crawling about by her foot. She let out a small gasp, stepping back in her cage before stepping on the rather large cockroach. "Ugh! I HATE those things!" She hissed, glaring down at the dead insect with a look of disgust.

The lizard-man glanced down at the dead insect, staring intently at it.

Spencer noticed his expression and with a little reluctance, she reached down for the cockroach, picking it up. As she slowly stood back up, she noticed that the lizard-man's eyes were still glued to the dead insect. "You want it?" She asked, trying not to look too grossed out. She then reached through the feeding partition of her cage, holding the cockroach out to him.

Slowly, the lizard-man ducked down, moving his head towards the feeding partition of his own cage. Then, without warning, his opened his mouth and out shot his long, lizard-like tongue. Whipping the cockroach from her fingers, in the next split second, his tongue had already rolled back into his mouth. He stood there, happily munching away before giving her a grateful nod.

Spencer arched a brow, looking rather impressed now. "Wow. Nice move." She complimented with a grin.

The lizard-man glanced back at her, feeling amused with the little X-5.

Spencer was about to speak up once again, but this time she held her tongue as her keen hearing picked up the light footsteps of two people. She glanced over to the tent flap, just in time to see a young man enter. She analysed him quickly, taking in his perfect black suit on top of his pale form, his jet black and scruffy hair atop of his head, his dark brown orbs that almost matched her own, his thin, pink lips pulled into an evil sneer and not forgetting, those lovely pair of brown leather shoes.

Way smirked as he sauntered proudly over to the cages. "Having a little family reunion?" He asked, clearly taunting the transgenics. Now that he actually had 457, he didn't have to worry about Hetfield's sticky fingers.

Spencer let out a tired sigh as she leaned casually against the left side of her cage and crossed her arms over her chest. "Great. YOU must be the new bad guy in my life." She said, keeping her tone as bored as her expression.

The lizard-man simply glared at Way, unable to do much else. For now.

"My name's Gerard Way." Way introduced himself, his smirk widening slightly. "Y'know, 457," He began as his eyes trailed slowly and blatantly up and down her entire form. "You're MUCH more beautiful than in your photo."

Spencer arched her brow, still looking rather disinterested. "I think I miss the OLD bad guy already."

Way chuckled, looking rather amused. He seemed pleased with her attitude, for whatever reason. "Anyway," He continued, clearly not at all fazed. "I had a chance to peruse the D.N.A. work-up done during your most recent stay back at Monticora."

Spencer rolled her eyes at that. "Lemme take guess; my insurance didn't cover my ass and now you want to me to go out-of-pocket instead."

Way paused, staring curiously at her for a moment. "Tell me, 457 -- are you familiar with the term 'junk D.N.A.'?" He asked, still looking rather intrigued.

Spencer shot him a confused look, but answered anyway. She was curious as to where he was going with this. But then again, curiosity always killed the cat. "I'm familiar with almost everything. It's the layman's terms for base pairs that don't contain viable genetic information. It doesn't do much more than fill space... Kinda like that gray, squishy thing between your ears." She added with a pointed smirk.

This time, Way rolled his eyes, but couldn't help smirking back. "Well, would you be surprised if I told you that YOU and only YOU have NO junk D.N.A.?" He asked, arching an expectant brow at her.

Spencer frowned slightly, her mind briefly flashing back to Williams' last words...

"...You're... The one we've been looking for... The perfect soldier... Sandeman... Find Sandeman..."

...Way smirked slightly, noticing her change of expression. "For YOU, it seems that every single pair base has been coded for some specific genetic purpose. So, the million dollar question is; what does it mean?" He eyed her curiously as he took a step closer to her cage. "What IS it that your genes are specifically coded to do?"

"Kick ass, mostly." Spencer chirped lightly. "But after THAT, I wouldn't really know." She added with a smug smirk.

Way simply smirked back, looking even more smug. "Well, not to worry, 457. I'll find out REAL soon anyway..."

...They had been driving off to no where in particular for the passed 15 minutes, Salvage putting pedal to the medal, while the others sat back quietly.

Finally, Ralph let out a loud, irritated huff, unable to handle the silence between them all anymore. "I still can't believe that we just left Spencer like that." She grumbled from the left back-seat with her arms folded over her chest. "We're not supposed to abandon a unit member. Ever." She added, shooting Bullet a pointed glare.

"And especially after everything that Spencer did for us." Salvage added, glancing briefly at them through the rear-view mirror.

Bullet let out a tired sigh as the females took to ganging up on him. "Look, she gave us a direct order." He reminded them, though, also trying to defend himself.

"She told me that we don't have to take orders anymore. Not from anyone." Cupid piped up, glancing pointedly back at the squabbling teens. "Not even from her."

Ralph smiled and nodded. "And THAT is good enough for ME." She concluded, shooting the older male a smug smirk.

"Me, too." Salvage added, sharing a bright smile with the little Cupid boy.

Bullet glanced between the three of them, his lips then slowly curling into a grin. "Let's do it."

The moment the words passed his lips, Salvage swerved the truck swiftly around in a rather dramatic U-turn before zooming off. Back to rescue Spencer


	31. Chapter 31

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spencer shot him yet another disapproving look. "Look, if you really wanna be a hero, then you can't be half-assed about it."

For the four young transgenics, tracking Spencer's captors back through the dense forest wasn't all that difficult. Skilled as they were, within minutes of darting through the trees and brush, they had found an encampment crawling with soldiers dressed in the same black armour as the ones who had previously attacked them and taken Spencer. As the four of them crouched low, staying hidden in the darkness of the forest. They analysed the perimeter, spotting a few men huddled around a large machine.

Bullet glanced up towards the sky, seeing the blinking light sailing across the night. "The rendezvous signal." He noted, narrowing his gaze back towards the large machine. "I can't believe we fell for it." He added through a low grumble.

Ralph glanced between the other three, her expression calm, yet serious. "We need to find Spencer. We need a plan."

"Lemme guess," A familiar voice piped up from behind them. The teens heads snapped back to see Alec standing a few feet from them. "She got her ass caught trying to save you idiots."

"Pretty much, yeah." Salvage mumbled, looking incredibly guilty.

Alec shook his head. "Alright." He let out a tired sigh before taking his position at the front of them. "Well," He chirped. "Let's go get this over with..."

...For the first time in days, Cupid had finally let go of his golden trumpet, leaving it behind in the old, abandoned pick-up truck. For the first time in days, he was now to act as the soldier he was always raised and trained to be. In doing so, he crept out from the darkness of the forest first, his steps careful, quick and deadly silent. As he neared the fence, he also neared the first soldier, standing armed, but with his back to him. The young transgenic crept on until he was right behind the soldier and only then did the man realise what was happening. But it was too late for him as Cupid sent a hard punch to his gut, causing the soldier to sink to his knees. In the next instant, Cupid reached out again, landing another punch, this time, to his face and this time, rendering in an unconscious heap of limbs.

Salvage appeared next, darting passed Cupid and jumping the 10 foot wired fence with great ease. She then darted off, silently and quickly...

...Way was staring absentmindedly up at the blinking signal darting across the sky when the entire encampment (minus the signal machine) cut out, rendering the entire site into darkness. He glanced around, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. "Keep at it." He ordered to the couple of soldiers who were operating the machine.

The soldiers simply nodded.

Way reached for the gun pinned to his belt. "I'm gonna go find out what the hell's going on, now..."

...After Salvage had cut the power, she retreated back to Cupid. Meanwhile, Bullet and Ralph followed Alec in search of the tent that Spencer was in. It wasn't long before they spotted the two armed soldiers standing guard outside one tent in particular. In a blur, Bullet and Ralph took out each guard with a single hard punch to the face. They then waited outside, standing watch for any more unwanted company.

Alec searched the soldiers' pockets, quickly retrieving a the large AK-47 and a large bunch of keys. He then entered the tent, instantly spotting his 'damsel in distress.

"Alec?" Spencer shot him a rather surprised look.

Alec simply smirked. "To the rescue." He darted over to her cage, searching for the correct key as quickly as he possibly could. "STILL wanna kick my ass?" He asked, his smirk only widening.

Spencer rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smirking a little, too. "Maybe later." She replied. "Hurry up!"

As if on cue, Alec finally found the key and quickly unlocked her door before swinging it open.

Spencer shot him a brief, but grateful smile before turning to the cage sat beside her own. "Him, too." She said, motioning to her prison-mate and new friend; the lizard-man.

Alec glanced over to the creature before arching a brow at her. "Are you kidding me!?"

"Do it, now!" Spencer hissed, shooting him a dangerous glare for emphasis.

Alec rolled his eyes, but complied anyway. "Okay, okay! Keep your panties on."

Spencer shot him a brief look of disgust as he brushed passed her purposely. "It's okay." She said, shooting the lizard-man a reassuring smile. "You're free now."

Alec finally found the key and quickly let the creature out.

The lizard-man darted out instantly, pausing at the entrance to the tent. He glanced over his shoulder, shooting the female X-5 one last look before disappearing.

Alec scoffed loudly, staring after the creature. "Uh, a 'thanks' would have been nice."

Spencer merely rolled her eyes, obviously not impressed with his attitude towards his own kind.

"Come on," Alec said, moving towards the entrance of the tent. "Let's get the hell outta here."

Spencer followed him outside, instantly noticing the blinking light sailing across the night sky. "Wait." She said, halting abruptly.

Alec stopped, turning to give her a confused look. "What is it?"

"The signal's still showing." Spencer noted, pointing towards the sky.

"Spencer, come on!" Alec groaned, shooting her a rather pleading look. "Let's just go. Please?"

Spencer shot him yet another disapproving look. "Look, if you really wanna be a hero, then you can't be half-assed about it."

Alec merely rolled his eyes at her again.

Spencer brushed purposely, though, roughly passed him this time. "Now, let's go."


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec rolled his eyes, but couldn't help smirking in return. "Can't you ever just thank me?"

Spencer plan was simply -- change the signal, destroy the signal and then get the fuck out of there.

Hiding behind the nearest tent, Spencer crouched and waited for Alec to get into position. She watched the two lone soldiers, just meters away, standing idly beside the signal machine, which was still blinking across the sky. From the corner of her eye, she watched Alec dart and hide behind one of the others tents. She watched him as he reloaded with another abandoned AK-47 before he then caught her gaze and gave her the go ahead nod. She nodded back in acknowledgement and then finally revealed herself.

"Wow," Spencer sauntered over to the soldiers, holding a smirk of amusement when they both jumped in surprise. "All those stars," She aired, gazing up to the night sky. "Kinda make you feel small and insignificant, huh?"

The soldiers glanced at one another before then raising their weapons to her.

It was then that Alec finally made his own move. Watching the entire time, he then darted out from his hiding place when the soldiers aimed their weapons on Spencer. He blurred over, appearing behind the soldiers in a split second. And as the soldiers made to react, the transgenic simply grabbed both their necks and smacked their heads together.

Spencer watched the soldiers slump to the ground unconscious before arching her brow at the other transgenic. "A little dramatic." She noted with an amused smirk.

Alec rolled his eyes, but couldn't help smirking in return. "Can't you ever just thank me?" He asked as he darted over to the machine's computer.

Spencer's smirk only widened. "Nope..."

...Meanwhile, clear across the other side of the encampment site, Way let out an angry growl as he reached for his handheld radio as his soldiers scurried around him in a hurry. "We've got a security breach! The perimeter's been compromised!" He yelled into the radio.

"Sir, we are scanning the entire perimeter."

"Get it done!" Way barked. He glanced around at the utter chaos of his operation and really did try not to throw another fit. It was then that he noticed all, but one of his men racing around. Instead, Grimes was stood, staring up to the sky. "What the hell are YOU looking at?" Way snapped, storming over to the soldier.

"Uh, sir..." Grimes glanced warily back at his boss. "THAT, is NOT the signal to regroup." He noted, pointing up at the blinking signal.

Way glanced up at the blinking signal, not really know what the hell he was looking at. "What does it say?" He grunted with a deep scowl.

Grimes gulped slightly, clearly hesitant or too scared to answer. "'Scatter and go to ground'."

Way didn't know how he did it, but somehow he managed to just grit his teeth to near cracking point, rather than flip and actual shit in someone's fucking face. Immediately, he reached for his handheld radio again before barking his angry orders. "Way to ALL units. You disable that motherfucking signal! Right fucking now!"

...While clusters of transgenics stood in the surrounding forest, all staring up at the sky one last time before scattering back into the darkness, Alec finally locked the signal, jamming any other signals.

Spencer smiled triumphantly. "It's done." She nodded. "Trash it."

Alec nodded before raising his weapon and firing a few rounds until the machine let out a few loud explosions and a large cloud of smoke.

"Okay, NOW we can get the hell outta here." Spencer stated with, shooting him a smirk.

Alec smirked back. "Finally." He muttered before brushing purposely passed her.

Spencer glared after him for a moment and then followed after him. They ran, blurring through the encampment and reached the perimeter fence, jumping that with ease, too. And then, as they rose to their feet, there was gunfire from behind.

Alec raised his gun, turning to see a lone soldier firing at them. "Son of a bitch! I'm out!" He roared, tossing the empty weapon aside.

Spencer grabbed him by the back of the neck before forcing them both to duck to the ground. She etched forward, managing to miss the bullets, but still, she didn't get to far. She didn't have to. Her eyes widened when the lizard-man appeared from a blur, standing behind the soldier.

The lizard-man grabbed the soldier by the back of the neck in one hand, tearing the weapon from his grasp with the other. He then let out a low, threatening hiss, glaring up at the man before carelessly tossing him aside.

Spencer slowly rose to her feet, a smile lingering on her lips. "Come with us." She said, knowing he could hear. She waved her hand, motioning for him to jump the fence and follow. Her eyes then widened again, though, this time in dread as she spotted Way and a few more of his men rushing towards the perimeter fence. "Hurry!" She yelled, pointing towards Way.

The lizard-man glanced behind him, spotting Way and his men. He then quickly turned on his heal, leaping towards the fence.

Spencer gasped, her eyes widened in horror as Way shot at the lizard-man, causing the creature to tumble back to the ground. White pulls out a gun and shoots him.

Alec had to admit that he felt sorry for the creature, but he also knew there was nothing to be done. As Spencer started towards the lizard-man, Alec quickly grabbed her wrist. "We are going. NOW." He stated sternly before dragging her off.


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Not so fast." Spencer said, shooting him a pointed look. "As soldiers, we still have one last thing to do."
> 
> "Oh, yeah?" Alec arched a brow in return. "And what's that?"
> 
> "To pay our respects to those of us who didn't make it this far." Spencer replied, her tone as calm as her expression.

The next morning, somewhere along the one of the many roads leading through the forests, the transgenic teens were lined up in single file for one last time. Spencer stood in front of them, her motorcycle and the pick-up truck parked up on the side of the dusty road behind her. Alec stood behind the kids, on the opposite side of the road, leaning casually against the bonnet of a black Chevy Impala '67 -- which Spencer suspected he had stolen from some poor Ordinary. And then there was Jacky, who stood in front of Ryan's Aztek, parked up beside the pick-up truck.

Spencer greeted the Englishman with a bright smile as she walked over to him. "Hey."

Jacky smiled in return. "Hey, yourself. And thanks for returning my calls." He added with a hint of sarcasm.

Spencer smiled sheepishly. "Yeah... Sorry. I was a LITTLE preoccupied." She said, glancing briefly back to the teens.

Jacky's smile widened, letting her know that he wasn't really angry at all. He was merely teasing, though, he had been extremely worried about her for last two days. Especially after Hetfield's odd little phone call. "Yeah. I thought you might have been." He replied, then reached his jacket, pulling out a large, brown envelope. "Here -- what you asked for. It's all there." He said, holding it out to her.

Spencer shot him a grateful smile. "Thanks." She said, taking it from him. "I owe you."

"Yes, you do." Jacky agreed with a rather mischievous grin.

Spencer rolled her eyes playfully before sauntering back towards the teens. "Okay, people. In this envelope are I.D.'s, passports and some cash to boot. That's pretty much everything you need to get around without running into trouble." She explained, holding the envelope up for them to see.

"Are we ever gonna see you again?" Cupid asked, glancing rather hopefully up at her.

Spencer smiled warmly down at him and nodded. "I promise."

Cupid smiled brightly back up at her, obviously pleased with her answer.

Spencer handed the envelope over to Ralph before speaking up again. "Now, pay attention, 'cause I'm gonna drop a little wisdom on you adorable grunts --" She began, her eyes drifting slowly over each one of them. "-- The first time I got out into the real world, I lost track of nearly all of the other kids that I escaped with. And then, I spent the next 10 years trying to find them again." She explained. "So, please, DON'T let that happen to you. You're family. We ALL are."

Jacky smiled to himself as he quietly observed from afar. Spencer had changed. He could see it now. And it was a good change. She cared more. She seemed more... Human. What she had always wanted more than anything -- to be normal.

The teens all glanced at one another before smiling back at the wise X-5 -- who had saved their lives more than once in one single day and who had shown a great deal of care for them, as people rather than as soldiers.

Alec rolled his eyes, having heard enough by that point. "Okay," He chirped. "I'm outta here before the waterworks start up." He muttered, then walking around to the driver's door of his new Impala. Which he loved dearly already.

"Not so fast." Spencer said, shooting him a pointed look. "As soldiers, we still have one last thing to do."

"Oh, yeah?" Alec arched a brow in return. "And what's that?"

"To pay our respects to those of us who didn't make it this far." Spencer replied, her tone as calm as her expression.

Alec's cocky expression seemed to quickly morph into a more serious one. He nodded in response, shooting her an agreeing look. He then stood to attention, his hands behind his back, his shoulders back and his head held high.

"Attention, soldiers!" Spencer chimed, taking the same stance, the teens following.

Even Jacky stood straight and took a moment to think of all the shit that he and Spencer and had been through. Well, Spencer especially -- having most of her siblings killed off like cattle.

Cupid then took a single step forward out of line and raised his golden trumpet to his lips. For the next few moments, he then began to play 'Taps' as the others all stood in silence.

As Spencer stood, listening to Cupid play the traditional and familiar Military tune, her mind began to flash through all of the worst moments of her life...

...She could remember Eva, dead on the floor, shot by the gun in Hetfield's hands...

...She could remember Gena, tied at her ankles, drowning in the bottom of the pool -- remember the look of panic of her face...

...She could remember as the guards dragged Jack off out of their dorm, never to be seen again...

...She could remember Jake, lying motionless in her arms as Monticora troops closed in on them...

...She could remember Valary lying, lifeless in her arms, both of them soaked to the core as Spencer yelled and wept in agony for her loss...

...She could remember that moment she realised Zack had given up his own life for her, shooting himself in the head to give her his heart so that she may keep going, keep fighting...

...And then, she could remember the lizard-man being gunned down by Way, this new madman in her strange and almost always frustrating life...

...As Cupid then finally ended the song, he slowly lowered his instrument, all of them -- transgenics and the human alike -- then saluted in unison.

Spencer took a step forward, bumping fists with Bullet. "Keep 'em outta trouble." She said, wearing a teasing grin.

Bullet chuckled, but nodded. "I'll try." He said. "Thanks for everything, Spencer." He added, shooting her a grateful look before walking off towards the truck.

Salvage stepped up next, throwing her arms around the X-5's shoulders and hugging her tightly.

Spencer arched a brow, clearly surprised. She then smiled softly to herself, returning the embrace. "Keep up the good work. You could probably find a well-paid job out there for your kinda skills." She said as the young X-6 finally let her go.

Salvage looked rather hesitant. "Y'mean, like... An Ordinary job?" She asked, then looking rather excited by that prospect.

Spencer grinned and nodded. "Yeah, totally. You're badass, remember?"

Salvage smiled and nodded, Ralph then bounding up to the X-5.

"Try not to throw up... TOO much, anyway." Spencer commented with a small, but clearly amused smirk.

Ralph simply rolled her eyes, shooting the X-5 a playful glare. "Thanks for saving our stupid asses... A lot." She chirped, wearing a sheepish smile.

Spencer chuckled. "Yeah, well, thanks for saving MY ass last night." She said pointedly. "So, I guess we're all even now."

Ralph smiled and nodded. "Yeah... I guess so." She then seemed hesitant for a moment before finally flinging her arms around the X-5. Their hug was brief, the blonde then pulling away and stalking off towards the trucks with deeply flushed cheeks.

Spencer chuckled to herself before staring down at the last of them. "Take care of the big idiots." She said, motioning towards the teens. She knew that the X-8 was capable of much more than the X-6 teens. Even if he was a little boy still.

Cupid glanced over at the teens, who were already arguing inside the truck. He smiled in amusement to himself before glancing back up at the X-5 -- the most beautiful being he had ever seen. He truly wondered if she way an angel. He had heard about angels and guardian angels. Maybe Spencer was in fact their guardian angel. He smiled brightly at that thought as he stared up at her. "They ARE kinda stupid sometimes, huh?" He (half-)joked.

Spencer chuckled and nodded. "YOU stay outta trouble, too. You're adorable, but we all know how deceiving looks can be." She said, shooting him a pointed look.

Cupid grinned in amusement, but nodded in agreement. "Thanks for everything. Even naming us."

"No problem, kid." Spencer mumbled, feeling her throat start to ache. She then pulled him close, hugging him tightly to her waist for a few moments. "I'll see you real soon."

Cupid smiled and nodded. He then reached for her hand, placing his golden trumpet in it. "You can keep it -- to always remember us by... Thanks to you, I don't need it anymore." And then with one last grin, he scampered off towards the truck, to join the rest of his family.

Spencer smiled and waved to the teens as Bullet finally pulled the truck out into the dusty road, speeding off into the distance. She then glanced over to Alec as he pulled up beside her in the Impala. "You know where you're headed?" She asked, arching a curious brow.

Alec shrugged, leaning an arm out of the rolled down window, his other hand gripping the steering-wheel. "Where ever the road takes me... Or at least for tonight; the closest and cheapest strip-bar." He added the last part with a cheeky grin.

Spencer rolled her eyes, but could help smirking in amusement. "Well, take care of yourself... Dick." She added the last part with a similar cheeky grin.

Alec simply chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. See ya around, gorgeous!" He chirped before slowly pulling away and speeding off into the distance.

Spencer watched after him for a moment before finally making her way back over to the Englishman. "Thanks again, for coming through on those documents." She said, shooting him another grateful smile.

"No problem." Jacky replied, smiling brightly back down at her. "You did a good thing, Spencer." He told her, wearing a reassuring expression. "Not just for them, but for ALL of them. And they WILL figure it out; how to live in the real world."

Spencer simply nodded.

Jacky frowned slightly, noticing her rather troubled expression. She was always so hard on herself. "So, you heading back to the city?" He asked curiously.

Spencer nodded. "Yeah. But I'm just gonna take a ride for a little while first. Clear my head, y'know?"

Jacky nodded. "I'll call you later?" He asked, looking rather hopeful.

Spencer nodded and smiled brightly this time. "Yeah. I'd like that..."

'...I look at Jacky and I wanna take my own advice about staying together. But how are we supposed to do that when his life depends on us staying apart? All I ever do is put him in danger and one day, it's gonna be HIM in the crossfire...'

Spencer frowned, her grip tightening on the handles as she sped through the city.

'But then again... Who knows? MAYBE we can beat these constant obstacles. MAYBE... I guess we'll see where the road takes us.'


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek caught the young man's eye and managed to contain his utter fan-boy excitement. "Go get him, tiger!" He told him with a reassuring grin.

As the crowds both cheered and booed from both sides of hall, Annie couldn't have felt more buzzed as she entered the large cage. As the microphone lowered into the ring, she grabbed it and finally announced the moment she had been waiting for; what the spectators had all been waiting for tonight. "And NOW," She bellowed, glancing around at all of the faces, some of them familiar, local to her business. "It's time for the main event of the evening. Grand prize; 5, 000 dollars!"

The crowds let out a roaring cheer, some clapping and others rushing back towards the ticket offices to put in a quick bet.

Annie grinned widely as she glanced around the large and over-populated room. "So, first up, we have the champion. With a record of 45 wins and no defeats. Standing 6'10 and weighing in at 262 pounds; Harvey, 'The Mangler'!"

Again, the crowd went wild. A large man then stalking through the room and up into the ring. He raised his fists into the air, staring out to the people as they cheered him on. He then gave a nod of acknowledgement to Annie before taking his place at one end of the caged in ring.

Annie grinned back at him before announcing the second man. "And now, the challenger. Undefeated in his 3 times in the ring, he hails from parts unknown. Standing at 6'2 and weighing in at 175 pounds; 'Monty Core'!"

Once more, the crowd went utterly wild as the second opponent entered the ring.

Alec smirked to himself as he sauntered slowly through the crowds, waving a hand here and there. He then entered the ring, waltzing right up to the man literally twice his size and width. He stood in front of the older man, staring directly up at him, showing no fear whatsoever. This was a fucking game to him. And an easy one at that.

Derek stood among the crowds, managing to have sneaked right up to the cage to get the best view possible. This was his Saturday night off and away from all of his snot-nosed messengers, so he was going to enjoy himself to the very fullest. "Hmm." He then pushed back through the crowds, making his way to the nearest vacant ticket box.

"What'll it be, sir?" The young man behind the counter asked with a polite smile.

"Uh, yeah, 300 on the pretty one." Derek said, pulling his wallet out. He counted the bills before handing them over.

Back in the ring, Harvey glared down at the puny man standing before him. He leaned down slowly so that their faces were level and snarled loudly, clearly trying to intimidate. "I'm gonna tear your pretty, little head off and shove it up your puny, little ass." He sneered, smirking smugly.

Alec arched a brow, looking somewhat amused. "Shouldn't we shake hands first?"

Harvey growled, instantly head-butting the younger man and shoving his back.

Alec stumbled back, his bare back hitting the metal cage surrounding them. "I'll take that as a 'no' then." He mumbled to himself.

Annie glanced between the two fighters before darting towards the door. "Luke! Ring the damn bell!" She yelled before slamming the cage door shut behind her.

"Hey, hey! He jumped the bell!" Derek yelled in utter outrage as he muscled his way back towards the front line.

Alec glanced behind him, seeing the man who had yelled out for him.

Derek caught the young man's eye and managed to contain his utter fan-boy excitement. "Go get him, tiger!" He told him with a reassuring grin.

Alec smirked in amusement, but nodded anyway before pushing himself up. He slowly circled the bigger man, then using his speed, he blurred behind the man, then elbowing him hard in the small of his back. This caused his opponent to sink down to his hands and knees.

"Oh, yeah!" Derek cheered, raising his winning ticket in triumph.

Alec smirked as Harvey tried to land a few punches, but the transgenic's speed was clearly no match for the ordinary, no matter how big he was. He dodged every last one of the attacks until he could see the heavy man grow slightly tired. He then took his chance, darting behind the man, punching him hard a few times in the back and shoulders. He then darted to the front, landing a few more punches to his face, chest and stomach.

"THAT'S the ticket!" Derek cheered. "THAT'S what I like to see!"

Harvey stumbled back after the rather severe beating of his lifetime, attempting to get away from him now. "What the fuck ARE you!?" He snarled angrily. Though, it was clear that he was slightly afraid.

Alec smirked. "Better." He replied before darting forward and landing one last blow to his face.

Harvey's jaw cracked loudly. He swayed slightly, his eyes rolling to the back of his head as he then slowly slumped to the floor in a large, unconscious heap of limbs.

The bell then rang loudly after a few moments, Annie then rushing back into the cage. "The new champion!" She cheered happily. Of course she was fucking happy. She had just won A LOT of money on this beautiful bastard. She hopped over Harvey's unconscious form and grabbed Alec's wrist, raising his hand to the air as the crowd cheered wildly once more...

...After the fight, Alec went straight back to his dingy dressing room and immediately began to pack his things up. Shortly after, his boss had arrived then, demanding an explanation for the rumours she had heard whispering around tonight. And when he had only confirmed said rumours, she was understandably annoyed, if not, downright angry.

"What the hell do you mean, this is your last fight!?" Annie snapped, shooting him a disapproving look, her hands perched on her hips.

"I'm done. Just gonna retire undefeated." Alec stated simply as he pulled his shirt back on -- a new, dark blue t-shirt, instead of his gray Monticora t-shirt.

"Retire!?" Annie stared at him as if he were insane. "But they fucking love you out there! We've been doing twice the business since you showed up last week."

Alec let out a tired sigh. "Look, Annie, as much as I DO enjoy beating people up, I've got bigger plans for my life." He smiled as she reached into her pocket, producing a large rolled up wad of 100 dollar bills. "And THAT," He pointed to the money. "Is gonna help me get started."

Annie sighed loudly in defeat before handing the money over to him. "Well, alright, kiddo." She finally nodded, giving up. "But if you ever change your mind, you know where to find me."

"Yeah. Thanks." Alec shot her a grateful smile as he shoved the money into his jacket pocket. "And thanks for setting me up." He said, motioning to the money.

Annie nodded, shooting him one last smile before leaving the room.

Alec quickly pulled his jacket on and grabbed his bag when he heard the door open again. He swirled around, sensing a presence behind him.

Two men, dressed in expensive black bow-tie suits stood before the transgenic. Both of their hands in their blazer pockets as they stared vacantly at the transgenic.

Alec arched a brow, looking somewhere between confused and annoyed by the rude intrusion. "What the hell do YOU guys want?" He asked rudely in return, glaring back at both the men. Then, in the next moment, he spotted both the men drawing their hands finally and reaching for him. He tensed up, groaning loudly in pain as they tasered him repeatedly until he finally slipped into the darkness.

Way slowly entered the room, his eyes watching the transgenic slumped to the floor in an unconscious pile of limbs. He sauntered over to his two men, standing with the X-5 now at his feet.

"What are our orders, sir?" The shorter of the two men asked, glancing expectantly to his boss.

Way stared down at the X-5 as he answered. "Bag him up." He ordered calmly, though, with a cruel, little smirk lingering on the corners of his lips.


	35. Chapter 35

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tessa looked very surprised then, but rather pleasantly so. "Spencer?" Her eyes widened slightly in shock. "THEE Spencer?" She then asked, then glancing to the Englishman for some type of confirmation.

Tonight was Spencer's Friday night off and she had also managed to force Jacky to take a night off from saving the world, too. Although, this time around, it didn't take much forcing on Spencer's part. Especially when she mentioned food and wine. And of course, her own presence.

Tonight, was a date night. A 'proper' date night.

The pair of them had already gotten through half a bottle of cheap Chardonnay (that Spencer had managed to find on the black market) as they chatted away and pottered around the lavish kitchen. On one of the four stoves sat a small pot of sauce, sizzling slowly away over the small flame, while the rest of the kitchen counters were littered with food, empty food packaging or various utensils.

Jacky stood at one counter, a knife in his right hand as he chopped the vegetables up quickly and efficiently. "So," He continued his little story. "The mayor of our fair city calls the cops and tells them that someone ripped off his Town car last night." He explained, shooting her a subtle, but teasing sort of suspicious expression.

"It wasn't ME, I swear." Spencer replied with an all too innocent look. Though, it was clear she was joking... For once.

Jacky chuckled lightly before carrying on. Of course, he already knew it wasn't the transgenic cat burglar. But he still loved to tease, her especially. "Cops found the car over in Sector 4 with 500 dollars worth of cocaine stashed away in the trunk."

Spencer arched a brow. "What -- so a drug dealer stole it in the end?" She asked, shooting him a curious look.

"Ah, no." Jacky said, smirking slightly, his blue orbs shining with amusement. "The drug dealer took it from a hooker that he himself pimps out." He explained as he moved onto chopping the garlic. "The hooker received it from His Honour -- as a gift -- if you ever." He rolled his eyes and then went on again. "So, the mayor sobers up this morning and forgets all about it -- EXCEPT, the hooker had already previously signed a pink slip. So, she says that she'll tell the press EVERY sordid little detail of their times together unless he drops all of the charges pressed against her boyfriend... Oh, and she said that she'd also like to keep the car." He added that last part with an wide and amused grin.

Spencer chuckled quietly, shaking her head. "And WHERE did you hear this VERY touching story?" She asked with a amused grin to match his own.

Jacky smirked smugly. "Well, I DO have my sources, y'know." He retorted with a hearty chuckle.

Spencer rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling. She always smiled around this beautiful man.

After a few moments of comfortable silence between the two, in unison, their gazes snapped towards the archway when the sound of the front door opening and closing loudly could be heard throughout the large and echo-ey apartment.

Spencer glanced expectantly to Jacky. "Expecting company?" She asked, shooting him a curious expression.

Jacky frowned, looking somewhat confused. He then simply shook his head in response.

"Jacks!? You home!?"

Spencer arched a brow slightly upon hearing a female voice.

"I smell something fabulous!" The voice cheered as the footsteps grew closer.

"Friend of yours?" Spencer chirped, glancing curiously at the Englishman. And she could also notice that he had paled slightly, for some reason. He looked rather uncomfortable. "You okay?" She asked, looking concerned now.

Jacky quickly snapped out of his stupor and forced on a large smile. "Uh, yeah." He nodded, mentally cursing himself for answering to quickly.

"Jacks!?" The owner of the voice then finally came into view as she stepped into the living room. "Oh... Hi." She paused halfway towards the kitchen, finally noticing the rather stunning brunette perched on one of the kitchen counters. "I didn't know you had company. Sorry. I wouldn't have just barged in otherwise." She stated, shooting him an apologetic look.

"It's fine." Jacky said, shooting her a brief, but reassuring smile.

Spencer arched a brow, staring curiously between the two.

"Gosh, WHERE are my manners!? I'm Tessa. I'm a friend of Jacky's." The blonde shuffled over to the kitchen, holding out her hand.

Spencer was a little surprised by how bold this woman was, but offered a friendly smile. "Spencer." She said, grasping the blonde's hand. She then had to fight the urge to smirk when the blonde flinched slightly at the transgenic's firm grip. Though, she would never hurt someone just for the fun of it... Well, not anymore, anyway.

Tessa looked very surprised then, but rather pleasantly so. "Spencer?" Her eyes widened slightly in shock. "THEE Spencer?" She then asked, then glancing to the Englishman for some type of confirmation.

Jacky simply nodded in response. He stood quietly for the moment, observing with both nervousness and a little fear. He could remember the night of his cousin's wedding, when he had introduced Katy to Spencer. 'And boy, what an awkward moment THAT was.' He thought with a silent gulp.

"Wow... Just... WOW!" Tessa glanced back to the shorter woman and smiled brightly. "I'm sorry." She shot the brunette a sheepish smile when she arched a brow at her. "It's just... Well, it's an honour to meet you. Like, seriously, THIS guy," She pointed a thumb back towards Jacky. "NEVER stops talking about you."

Spencer wanted to feel offended by the blonde's choice of words -- maybe because (but she still TOTALLY wasn't...) a little jealous -- but she could sense that the woman had meant nothing by it. So, she simply slapped on another friendly smile before answering. "All good things, I hope." She didn't really know what else to say. What else could she say? Well, she could say a lot actually. It's just that none of those things were anywhere near appropriate...

Tessa grinned and nodded eagerly. "Hell yeah!" She chirped enthusiastically. "I've heard ALL about your heroic adventures. ALL ending with you kicking ass. But girls kick ass. It's what it says on the t-shirt." Of course, Tessa was a little bummed out -- she still liked Jacky, A LOT, and had done for quite sometime, the last 3 and a half years of knowing him, in fact. BUT she knew how much this Spencer woman meant to him. She only wished to see him happy and he seemed happy whenever he spoke about the transgenic.

Spencer's jaw tightened slightly. This girl was perfect... For her. She was exactly the kind of person Spencer would so clearly end up being friends with. Good friends, even. Even if she seemed a little unhinged -- well, bubbly, maybe?

Tessa didn't seem to notice the slight change in the transgenic's mood. She simply continued to stare at the brunette in slight awe.

However, Jacky had seen that look in those dark chocolate orbs before. "Tessa, is there something you needed?" He asked politely, but clearly hinting towards his present female company. He knew of Tessa feelings for him -- she liked him. But from the beginning, he had made it clear to her. Spencer was the only one for him. Whether he could be with her or not.

Tessa stared sheepishly between the couple. "Um, yeah, actually... I was kinda wondering if I could take a nice, hot shower... Since my water's been fricking shut off until tomorrow night!" She grimaced slightly. "I actually smell! I NEVER smell! I didn't even know I COULD smell!"

Spencer smiled in amusement to herself as she simply watched the blonde bombshell natter on like some sort of funny cartoon character.

Jacky rolled his eyes, letting out a tired sigh. "Fine." He grumbled.

Spencer's jaw tightened again. "Is he serious!? Tell the bitch to find someone else's shower! Ugh! This is supposed to be OUR night! SO typical of him! Always gotta help the damsel!' Of course, all this was on the very tip of her silver tongue, but nonetheless, she managed to curve herself.

"Thank you so much!" Tessa chimed, shooting him a bright grin. "I'll be in and out as quick as I can. You won't even know I'm here."

Jacky sighed lightly, looking somewhat torn. He felt slightly sorry for the lonely blonde. He knew she had no one, not really anyway. "You can grab a bite to eat with us before you leave, if you want." He told her.

Spencer's jaw tightened even more. 'Oh, he did NOT!'

Tessa seemed oblivious to the transgenic's slightly darkened expression. "Um, yeah. Great! Thanks, Jacks! You're the best!" She chirped before bounding eagerly towards the hallway.

Jacky timidly turned his gaze towards the transgenic girl, frowning slightly at her unreadable expression. "Sorry... It's just... I kinda feel bad for her. She's got no one, y'know?" He tried to explain, hoping she would understand.

Spencer simply shrugged. "It's no problem." She then hopped off of the counter.

"Where are you going?" Jacky asked, his eyes following her movements closely.

Spencer felt him following closely behind her as she made her way into the living room, grabbing her leather jacket from the couch. "I just remembered that I gotta thing." She excused lamely as she pulled her jacket on and stalked out into the hallway.

Jacky followed after her again. "What? What 'thing'?" He asked, shooting her a clearly disbelieving look.

Spencer continued down the hallway as she replied without even looking back at him. "Just a thing. Don't worry your pretty, little head about it." Her voice was all too pleasant, almost bittersweet.

Jacky jumped in front of her when she reached for the front door. "Spencer," Towering over her, he stared directly down at her. "What's going on?" He frowned for a moment until his expression morphed slowly into one of realisation and with that, he grinned, feeling slightly amused. "You're jealous." He chuckled lightly. "Of Tessa?" He chuckled again at the absurd notion. Did she not know that nothing would ever compare to her? Not for Jacky, at least. She was the only one for him. Even after 5 years of thinking she was dead, he still could get over her. Not really.

Spencer glared darkly back up at him. "Don't flatter yourself, Vincent." She chided. "It's not about Tessa... It's YOU." She mumbled that last part, looking somewhere between hurt and slightly guilty.

Jacky's expression dropped instantly as he frowned. "ME!? What'd I do!?" He somewhat squealed, looking slightly confused now.

Spencer let out a loud huff and rolled her eyes. All she wanted was to be normal and all he seemed to want was all work and no play. "Figure it out, GENIUS!" She snapped before shoving him lightly aside and tearing the front door open.

Jacky flinched slightly as the front door then slammed loudly behind her. He stood there, staring at the door and wondering just what the hell he did wrong this time...

...When Spencer stepped out of Ryan and Jacky's apartment building, she finally stopped to take a deep and calming breath. After a few moments, cooling her anger off and composing herself, she then made her way across the street, over to her parked up motorcycle.

"'All I wanna do is take a shower.'" The transgenic girl imitated the blonde bombshell's high-pitched and slightly annoying, yet somehow still funny voice as she crossed the street with a look of great irritation.

Spencer pulled out her keys from her jacket pocket and swung a leg over the saddle of her motorcycle. "Ugh. All, I wanna do is DROWN her in one..." She grumbled, shoving her keys into the ignition and hearing her baby roar into life before purring intently. She scowled as she grabbed her sunglasses from her other pocket and slid them on. "Jealous, my ass..."


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jacky glared at the coffee table before replying. "Oh, no. I am DONE with taking down these cryptic messages!" He snapped. "I wanna know what's going on. Right now." He said, his voice firm.

The next morning, Jacky still hadn't managed to get through to Spencer's cellphone. It would just keep ringing everytime he would call. So then, by lunchtime, he had given up altogether. For now. He would give her time to cool down. He figured she was still pissed off. But about what, he still had no frigging clue. And then, when it was almost 1:30:P.M., his cellphone then finally rang. He stood up from the dining room table abruptly, leaving his sandwich behind and only half eaten. He then rushed through to the living room, collecting his cellphone from the coffee table. He glanced down at the caller's I.D. and frowned slightly in confusion when he saw that it was a private and withheld number. He snapped the cellphone open, pressing it to his ear before speaking into it. "Hello?" He inquired, just hoping that it was Spencer -- maybe using a friend's phone instead.

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line before the person finally spoke up. "It's Hetfield."

Jacky couldn't deny how disappointed he felt as he rolled his eyes to himself. "I had a feeling that I'd soon be hearing from YOU again." He retorted with a slight smirk.

Hetfield let out a breathy chuckle, sounding slightly amused. He'd always liked the Englishman's rather sour sense of humour. "Don't sound TOO happy about it." He countered with a little sarcasm in his tone.

Jacky sighed. "Well, if you're calling me to follow up on our previous conversation -- Spencer made it back, limbs and all fully intact." He replied with a rather sour tone. He was sick of Hetfield's little disappearing acts or hanging up halfway through conversations. It pissed him off, intently.

"She ALWAYS does." Hetfield said. Though, the relief in his tone was clear.

Jacky's jaw tightened slightly. "Yeah, well, she didn't that one time, 5 years ago. Do you remember THAT?" -- is what he REALLY wanted to say. However, somehow, he managed to curve his tongue. He didn't need to start more fights. "Pff." He scoffed lightly. "That's kind of high praise coming from a man who spent the last decade or so hunting her and her siblings down." He retorted casually, almost snootily.

Hetfield let out a tired sigh before responding. "Well, those days are over now."

"Hmm." Jacky hummed, though, only to acknowledge that he had heard.

"Look, I'm working on a lead right now. So, will you please just let Spencer know I'll be in touch with her real soon?" It was obvious that he wasn't asking, but Hetfield was at least civil. Despite what the Englishman thought of him, Hetfield rather liked the young man. He saw a lot of himself in the man, before he was ever involved with Monticora, back when it was just him and his beloved.

Jacky glared at the coffee table before replying. "Oh, no. I am DONE with taking down these cryptic messages!" He snapped. "I wanna know what's going on. Right now." He said, his voice firm.

There was a long pause before Hetfield then let out a loud and defeated sigh. "When Spencer was back at Monticora, They did a D.N.A. assay on her." He explained slowly and carefully, his voice low, as if he didn't want anyone else to hear. "There's something VERY unusual about Spencer's genetic makeup... Something that even I didn't know about until 2 nights ago."

Jacky frowned, clearly intrigued, but also a little sceptical. "Well, do you know what that means?" He asked, sounding curious.

Hetfield let out another tired sigh before answering. "I don't know... YET." He admitted. "But I do know that Williams must have thought it was very important, because I found the test results locked away in her briefcase. Along with an employee I.D. from a company that -- as far as I can tell, doesn't even exist... So, just let Spencer know that I'm looking into it for now." He added that last part with a slight pleading in his tone.

Jacky let out a tired sigh and nodded to himself as he replied. "Yeah, okay. I'll pass it on." He finally agreed, his tone slightly defeated.

"Thank you." Hetfield said. And for once, he sounded pretty damn genuine and actually grateful. "I always appreciate your helping hand, Vincent."

"Oh, yeah?" Jacky arched a brow, a slight challenging tone to his voice. "Then maybe YOU can help ME with something in return..." He trailed off after that very blatant hint.

There was one last brief pause on the other end of the line before Hetfield's now intrigued tone spoke up again. "I'm listening..."


	37. Chapter 37

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Jacky and I had a date last night. Our first real date ever."

Sundays were the only day that D-Jones messenger's service was closed, much to the happiness of its workers. And after yesterday's fail, Spencer finally to get dressed and emerge from hers and Gabby's apartment. And tonight, for once, she decided to take a walk, instead of using her Ninja. So after a long walk through the busy night life of the city, she finally ended up outside of Crash.

Spencer then entered the bar, shooting her usual smile towards bouncers Eddie and Mike, who nodded curtly back at her as they usually did so. She took the stairs slowly, descending down into the loud and crowded building. She stopped halfway, scanning the crowds for any familiar faces. She smiled to herself, seeing a few of them scattered around and then made her way the rest of the way down. She stepped into the crowds, squeezing smoothly in and out of the dancing bodies before finally reaching the bar.

"Hey, boo! You came!" Original Gabby greeted her best friend brightly, spotting the gorgeous brunette almost immediately.

Spencer shot her a brief smile and nodded in response before plopping down on the bar stool beside the blonde's.

Gabby frowned slightly, instantly noticing her best friend's rather dim mood, not to mention seeing the glum expression slapped across her pretty face. "Okay, boo -- break it down for Original Gabby." She chirped, wearing a knowing smile.

Spencer let out a tired sigh, knowing that she would have to talk. She knew all too well of how nosey and persistent her best friend could be when she wanted to be. "Jacky and I had a date last night. Our first real date ever." She explained with a small scowl.

Gabby nodded in acknowledgement, then arching a brow when she noticed the transgenic's expression. "Well, when are you gonna let your face in on the goods news?" She chirped, only trying to lighten the poor girl's mood. She was always beating herself up about something or other. Sometimes Gabby worried about her. She always seemed so stressed, especially lately. Gabby was confused -- if anything, now that Monticora were gone, forever, Spencer had nothing to worry about, surely. Then again, maybe there was something Spencer wasn't telling her. Which she could understand. She knew certain things with Spencer were private, she was a very private person, always had been. But Gabby also didn't really need to know, nor did she really want to. As long as Spencer was alive and well, she couldn't care less about anything else.

Spencer shrugged, still looking rather glum. "I don't know... I just..." She didn't really want to tell her the part about Tessa, because it wasn't really about her. Even IF she was KIND of jealous. "Sometimes it feels like things between Jacky and I are never gonna... Well, any kind of anything." She mumbled with a loud sigh of defeat.

Gabby was about to tell her how stupid she was being when a rather high-pitched voice popped up behind them.

"Hey, Spencer!"

Spencer mentally groaned before turning around on her stool to face the familiar blonde bombshell. "Hey." She returned the polite greeting with a small, but friendly smile.

Gabby stared between the girl and her best friend with a brow raised, obviously wanting to know who had rudely interrupted her.

Tessa grinned widely. "I didn't know you kicked it here." She said, still staring at the transgenic in awe.

Spencer shifted slightly in her seat, feeling a little uncomfortable. She wondered just why this odd blonde was so amazed with her. It actually freaked her out a little. Just WHAT the heck had Jacky told this woman about her? "Um, yeah." She nodded, still managing her friendly smile. "My troops and I are practically all regulars."

Tessa simply nodded, still grinning from ear to ear.

Spencer quietly cleared her throat before finally decided to make some introductions. "Um, Original Gabby," She turned to the older blonde seated beside her. "This is Tessa. Tessa, this is my best friend and soul sister; Original Gabby."

Gabby smirked at her introduction before hopping off of her bar stool. She approached the younger blonde with an extended hand and a friendly smile. "Hey. Nice to meet you, boo."

Tessa grabbed the older blonde's hand all too eagerly, giving it a good three shakes before letting go. "Likewise." She chirped. "Can I buy you girls a drink?" She asked, hopping up onto the stool beside Spencer.

Gabby grinned, her eyes lighting up. "I like her already." She said, shooting Spencer a look.

Spencer couldn't help smirking slightly at that.

"I'll have whatever you're having." Gabby told the younger blonde. "What'll it be, boo?"

Tessa thought for a moment. "Hmm... Well, I was thinking -- tequila?" She asked, arching a brow and smirking.

Gabby stared blankly before breaking out into another pleased grin. "I like you're thinking. We gonna get along JUST fine."

Tessa chuckled before giving the orders.

"Hey, ladies." Rev shot the three his trademark grin as she leaned against the bar in front of them. "What's it gonna be tonight?"

"6 shots of tequila and 3 Martinis, please, Jimmy." Tessa piped up.

Rev arched a brow. "We celebrating?" He asked with another grin.

"Yes. Yes, we are." Gabby replied. "To new friendships!" She cheered.

Tessa grinned and nodded. "To new friendships! Alright!" She cheered along.

"Here, here." Spencer muttered, clearly teasing the over-enthusiastic blondes.

"Ugh. Cheer up, bub." Gabby said, giving the brunette an affectionate nudge of her arm.

"Hey! Spencer! Gabby!"

Both Spencer and Gabby let out a groan in unison upon hearing Craig's voice pipe up from out of the crowds.

"Ladies! Oh, and new lady! Hey!" Craig stumbled over to the bar, towards his friends.

"How ya doing, C-Dog?" Spencer asked, smirking in amusement as she noticed his swaying form. The drunken idiot could barely stand.

Craig simply ignored her sarcastic quip, speaking over her, as he did with everyone. "Spencer," He said, knowing how intelligent she was. Seriously, he wondered sometimes if she was like some sort of secret genius. And she was also really strong for a little thing. And if he wasn't such a fucking fool, he'd probably start to wonder if she was one of these Monticora creatures that Ryan Eye's Only had talked about in his latest cable hacks. Yes, IF he wasn't such a fucking fool, indeed.

Spencer rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smirk as she humoured the idiot anyway. After all, he may have been an idiot, but he was still her friend. Kind of. "Yes, Craig?" She asked, as if humouring a young child.

Again, Craig dismissed her taunts. Or maybe it was simply because he was already beyond intoxicated. And he'd only been here for an hour. Or was it 2 hours? Definitely no more than 3 hours. No where near 4. Maybe. God, who knew already? Alas, he continued, before he would forget. Again. As he had, 3 times on the way over from the table to the bar. "We are having a disagreement back over at the table." He began, his attention then slightly wavering again as his gaze slowly drifted back to the pretty blonde he'd never laid eyes on before this glorious night. "Hey, maybe you, Original Gabby AND your pretty, new lady-friend here," He added that part smoothly -- well, what he thought to be smooth. "Can referee?" He asked, shooting the blonde a rather drunken (but what he thought to be a charming) grin.

Spencer and Gabby glanced at one another knowingly before both chucking in amusement.

"Yeah, sure." Spencer said.

"I'll wait here and bring the drinks over." Tessa said.

"No worries." Rev called out. "I'll get one of the girls to bring 'em over."

"Thanks, Rev!" Craig chimed before shoving his way rudely back through the crowds, earning many glares along the way.

Spencer shook her head, but couldn't help smiling in amusement as she and both blondes followed after him.

Back at the booth, Spencer slid in beside Ronnie, Gabby sliding in on the end. Craig then slid in beside Tessa, after allowing her to go ahead first. Even if he was drunk, he could still be a gentleman. It also earned a few knowing smirks from his friends, who thankfully, otherwise kept their smartass mouths shut.

"Okay, C-Dog," Spencer said. "Break it down for us girls."

Craig nodded, leaning his hands on the table with a serious expression in his glazed over orbs. "Ronnie's dissin' me on Ryan Eyes Only -- sayin' that Monticora place that was burned down and let out those super-freaks was really just a V.A. hospital. Come on, girls. Defend my honour... Please?" He asked with a ridiculous pout.

Spencer, Ronnie, Gabby and Tessa (everyone, but Craig) all exchanged brief, but knowing looks.

Spencer shrugged all too casually, pretending to look disinterested. "I mostly try to stay out of all that political stuff." She said. "It melts my brain." She added, forcing a small smile.

Tessa was quick to agree there. "Yeah. Me, too." She said, grimacing slightly.

"Well, don't look at ME." Gabby said, holding her hands up. "I don't understand all that bullshit."

Spencer chuckled lightly.

Ronnie rolled his eyes. "Dude, just let it go. It's all bullshit. The government are just trying to scare us. Use your nut." He chided, shaking his head in disapproval.

Spencer smirked in amusement. "'Your nut'? That's a new one... I like it."

Ronnie chuckled. "You can have that one for free, darlin'."

Spencer merely rolled her eyes, shooting him a playful glare. "Gee, thanks, Ronald."

Once one of the barmaids had finally brough the drinks over, Craig glared at all of them before reaching into his rucksack and pulling out a newspapers. "It says right here in this paper that they're out there... These... Mutants..." He mumbled darkly. "Waiting to feed."

Gabby rolled her eyes. "You're an idiot." She said. "One too many forties and now he's seeing zombies among us."

Craig glared at her. "NOT zombies." He scoffed. "Creatures made in labs." He corrected, his eyes lighting up with excitement. "Some look just like us. And some... Don't." He widened his eyes for emphasis, but only earning his unimpressed looks from the others. "And it says that they've all got barcode transmitters on the backs of their necks so that they can beam information about us Oridinaries back to their main headquarters."

Gabby chuckled loudly, clearly amused. "Wigga, you faded." She cackled. "The news said that it was some terrorist group called the SW1 that burned down the place and killed a bunch of vets." She stated snootily. "Period point blank."

Tessa frowned deeply, trying not to get too upset. Some people just didn't understand. But it wasn't their fault. "Um, it's the S1W..." She mumbled sheepishly. "I'm a fan." She added when they all glanced to her. "And they'd never do anything like that. They're all about protecting the people of the city. Trust me. I know." She added that part with a small, but somehow reassuring smile. "Besides, you can't believe EVERYTHING you hear on the news, right?"

Craig stared at the blonde with a small, but clearly drunken smile lingering on the corners of his lips. "If I was making creatures in a lab, I'd make 'em look just like YOU." He purred, throwing his arm around the back of the booth and around her.

The others laughed, including Tessa. Though, she DID look a little awkward. "Really?" She chirped back, shooting him a friendly smile. "That's... That's uh, really sweet." She added sheepishly, causing the other three to chuckle in amusement again.

"Leave her alone, fool!" Gabby barked, reaching over the table to slap him up the side of his head.

Craig glared at her again, but did as he was told and moved back to his side of the booth.

Tessa shot the older blonde a small, but grateful smile after letting out a silent sigh of relief.

Gabby simply glared back at the idiot among them. "And STOP reading that trash before you ruin what's left of your dope-ass brain!"

In all of the commotion, Spencer's gaze flickered absentmindedly towards the newspaper still in Craig's hands. Her eyes then instantly widened as she spotted the familiar canine face in a black and white photograph, slapped across the front page. Immediately, she snatched the paper from his grasp, rising from her seat and stalking off before he could even begin to protest.

"Spencer! Spencer, wait!"

Spencer halted by the bottom of the stairs and waited for the blonde to catch up to her.

"What's going on, boo? What's wrong?" Gabby asked, shooting her a deeply concerned look.

Spencer let out a deep breath before handing the newspaper over to her best friend.

Gabby straightened the paper out, her eyes immediately drawn to the large photo of the man with the dog-like face. His large orbs were wide at the flash of the camera, his large teeth bared in a snarl. Her eyes widened slightly as she finally glanced back up to her best friend. "Is this someone you know, shugga?" She asked, clearly taken aback.

Spencer couldn't help feeling a little hurt by her best friend's reaction, but she could at least understand. And she was also rather grateful that the blonde was keeping her opinions to herself. She nodded in response before explaining. "His name's Joshua. He helped me escape Monticora... God, this is REALLY bad." She muttered to herself, looking as though she were about to have a nervous break down.

Gabby frowned, glancing briefly back to the photo. Well, he didn't look THAT scary. "Well, no one believes all of this stuff, anyway."

Spencer nodded, but her expression didn't change one little bit. "At least, not YET, they don't."


	38. Chapter 38

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Way halted abruptly, a smile curling onto his lips before he slowly turned around. "You're right." He agreed. "I have to kill them ALL."
> 
> Alec nodded, smirking smugly. "And you're gonna have to find 'em first... I can help you."

Alec didn't know how long he had been out cold, but when he finally did wake up, he found himself locked inside a small cage suspended from the ceiling of some old, abandoned warehouse. He didn't know where the hell he was (if he was even still in Seattle) or what was going on, but he did know that it probably wasn't good. Alec knew he was probably 'fucked' -- as the Ordinaries liked to call it. As a soldier, Alec stood quickly in his cage, his hazel green orbs darting around, analysing his surroundings with great ease in the dim light of the ghostly building. There wasn't all that much around -- a few empty wooden crates and a lot of fly-tipped garbage. After a few more moments, one of the small metal doors opened along the wall behind him. He swirled around, his eyes landing on the man he recognised as the one who had shot at he and Spencer and who had also shot and killed the odd lizard creature.

"That was a VERY impressive display last night." Way stated, wearing a small grin as he sauntered slowly towards the cage. He stopped a few feet away, glancing up at the transgenic caught in his little web.

Alec chuckled lightly as he leaned casually against the bars of his cage. "Thank you. It's SO nice to have fans." He replied with an all too sweet tone.

Way smirked back up at the transgenic as he reached a hand into his jacket pocket. "Tell me, 494," He began, his voice calm and collected. "Have you seen this girl recently?" He asked, then holding up the small photograph in his hand. He knew that the transgenic could see perfectly from that distance, even in the dim lighting conditions.

Alec didn't have to dilate his pupils and zoom his vision in on the photo to know that it was Spencer, but he did anyway. As predicted, the photo was of Spencer's Monticora I.D. He sighed mentally. She was a trouble magnet.

Way instantly noticed the slight change in the transgenic's expression; that look of recognition. "I already know that you were her breeding partner back at Monticora." He stated, arching an expectant brow now.

Alec didn't know exactly who the hell this idiot was, but there was no way he was talking. OR ending up back in another hell hole cell, for that matter. "It was just a summer fling." He chirped with a lazy shrug.

Way nodded. "And what about the other transgenics?" He pressed lightly. Slowly, slowly. He would get what he wanted. He always did in the end.

Alec rolled his eyes. "I make it a point NOT to fraternize myself with automatons. They just end up slowing me down. And I can't have that." He retorted, as if offended by the very notion. "So, what're you, exactly? F.B.I.? N.S.A.?" He asked, tilting his head while wearing a curious expression.

Way smirked to himself, as if sharing an inside joke to himself. "Well," He began, staring darkly up at the transgenic. "Let's just keep it simple and say that I've been sent to wipe out ALL evidence that Monticora ever existed and leave it at that." He replied smoothly, his tone still calm.

Alec finally glared back down at the man in the dark gray suit and the blood red tie. "Good luck with THAT." He scoffed. "There are tens of thousands of us."

Way simply shot the young transgenic one last sadistic smirk before turning towards the door he had come through.

The door opened as he turned, Toro shutting it quietly behind him before walking towards his boss.

"Make sure you take a D.N.A. sample before you dispose of the body." Way ordered before making his way towards the door.

Alec's eyes widened upon hearing the man's last words. "Wait!" He called out to him. "Just killing ME isn't gonna solve the problem."

Way halted abruptly, a smile curling onto his lips before he slowly turned around. "You're right." He agreed. "I have to kill them ALL."

Alec nodded, smirking smugly. "And you're gonna have to find 'em first... I can help you."

Way arched a brow, clearly surprised. "Is THAT a fact?"

Alec nodded again, his smirk slowly growing wider. "Well, who better to hunt transgenic than another transgenic?" He chirped with a pointed look.

Way scoffed loudly, clearly amused by that idea. "And you seriously expect me to believe that you would turn against your own kind?" He asked snootily, arching another expectant brow.

Alec simply smirked again, his orbs darkened considerably. "Try me."


	39. Chapter 39

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "If it DOES go off, then you will NEVER even know what the fudge hit you."

The proposition he had pointed towards Way had saved Alec's life. For now, anyway. Somehow, he just knew that he wasn't going to get off so lightly. But at least now he had bought some extra time to think of his next move. When the bottom of the cage finally opened for him, Alec landed effortlessly upon his feet. And then as a group of armed soldiers flooded the warehouse, all pointing their guns at him, he held up his hands in defence, letting them know that he wasn't going to try to escape.

Way nodded his head towards his men.

Grimes grabbed the transgenic roughly by the back of his neck. He then kicked the transgenic in the back of the legs, forcing him to sink to the hard concrete floor on his knees.

Alec simply went along with it all. Though, he had to fight the strong urge to just get up and punch the soldier in the face.

Checking his Rolex briefly, Way then turned to his second in command, giving him the go ahead nod.

Toro nodded back before reaching into his pocket and producing a small, wooden box. Slowly he opened it, carefully pulling out a small, needle-like instrument. He then stepped carefully towards the transgenic, standing behind him now. He paused, glancing to Way, who nodded again. He nodded back once more before reaching towards the transgenic and inserting the chip through a small needle into the back of the transgenic's neck.

Alec flinched slightly at the sharp pain digging into the flesh just underneath his barcode. "What the hell was THAT?" He asked, still wincing slightly as the pain quickly subsided.

Way smirked lightly as he answered. "Oh, just a little something to make sure that you don't get any ideas and run off on me -- as you were undoubtedly planning to do so." He aired casually, while shooting the X-5 a pointed look. Although, the transgenic could tell there was more to it than that; a catch, most probably. Way then reached into his blazer pocket, producing a small, marble-like object. "Micro-explosives." He stated, holding the tiny object up for the transgenic to see properly. He then let the tiny bomb drop to the floor, causing it to bounce lightly a couple of times. He lifted up his right foot, stomping lightly down on the micro-bomb, the impact causing it to let off a tiny explosion as it was crushed beneath.

Alec jumped slightly, his eyes widening.

Way watched the small puff of dust slowly vanish as he removed his foot slowly. "Not much of a punch to it at all, really." He aired, shooting the transgenic a small smirk when he noticed his widened eyes. "But ENOUGH of a punch... Considering that one of them are lodged against your brain stem..." His smirk slowly grew wider, his gaze never leaving the transgenic's. "If it DOES go off, then you will NEVER even know what the fudge hit you." He chuckled slightly, clearly amused by his own words.

'Shit! Now I'm REALLY fucked!' -- Was all Alec could think in that moment. And then, for some reason, the first person he thought of to go to help for was Spencer. He trusted her, even if he didn't particular like her all that much. And even though she was reckless and everything that a soldier shouldn't be, she still somehow always managed to get herself and others out of trouble. He wondered if she really noticed that, like he did.

Way took a few steps closer to the transgenic, now standing right in front of him, towering over him. "Now, this is a little test-run, of course. I need to know that I can actually trust you." He explained. "So, locate AND execute three transgenics," He ordered sternly. "And ONLY then, will I disarm that little marble stuck in your neck." He ended with a pleasant smile, but it was clear that he WASN'T asking.

"And how long do I have?" Alec asked, glancing back up at him from his bended knees.

"The explosive is timed to detonate in exactly 24 hours." Way replied.

Alec snorted out a small laugh, his eyes lit up in amusement. "A day?"

Way smirked. "Well, if you come through on this, I have three less of your freak-of-nature kind to worry about." He replied. "And if you DON'T --" He paused, making a popping noise to imitate the bomb. "-- Your head explodes." He concluded with another pleasant smile. He then waved a hand at Grimes, who in return, finally took a step back from the transgenic.

Alec slowly rose back up to his feet, making sure to shoot the soldier a brief glare. He then glanced at his rubber wristwatch. 'Midnight!? Already!? ...Holy shit!' He thought, while trying to keep himself calm and collected.

Way smirked knowingly to himself. "Time's a-wasting, 494." He chirped, clapping his hands in a ushering motion. "I'd get started, if I were YOU."

Alec glanced warily at the soldiers before nodding at Way and then making his way slowly towards the large double doors.

"Oh, just ONE last thing --" Way called out.

Alec halted just a few feet from the double doors and slowly turned back to face the evil man in the suit.

"I want you to bring back your victims barcodes." Way ordered, reaching a hand into his blazer pocket. "Call it 'proof of purchase,' if you will." He added with a cruel grin before tossing the small object towards the transgenic.

Alec caught the object in one hand with ease. Glancing down at his open palm, he saw a small switch-blade. Arching a brow, he glanced back up at the man.

Way smirked widely. "Happy hunting, 494." He said, finally dismissing the transgenic.

Alec nodded, turned around and with a roll of his eyes, finally made his way out of the old, abandoned warehouse.

Way stared after the transgenic, a small, but intrigued smile lingering on the corners of his lips. "THIS could prove to be a VERY interesting little experiment." He commented, though, mostly to himself.

"You think he's lying about not knowing where 457 is, sir?" Grimes questioned gruffly, glaring after the male X-5.

"ALWAYS assume that they're lying, Ray." Way stated firmly. "You'll live longer. Trust me."

"Well, we COULD get lucky." Toro pointed out. "IF he brings in her barcodes, then we could scrape it for D.N.A. And it could answer A LOT of questions for us." He added that last part rather eagerly, his eyes lighting up with excitement.

Way chuckled, then shrugged casually. "Either way, I win."


	40. Chapter 40

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Wait -- what's Terminal City?"

The next morning, Jacky was sat at his dining room table, Spencer standing at the opposite end of the table. He arched a brow to himself as he stared down at the newspapers in his lap. "Hmm." He hummed thoughtfully, his blue orbs glued to the front page photo. "Well, he LOOKS pretty dangerous." He commented, merely sharing his opinion.

Spencer frowned slightly. She understood that even after everything she had been through with Jacky -- after all the odd things he had seen -- she could understand that he was still an Ordinary. Even if he liked to think of himself as one of her own -- even if SHE actually thought that way of him herself sometimes. "Well, he's NOT." She replied, her frown deepening a little as she spoke. "Don't judge him just because of the way he looks."

Jacky let out a tired sigh as he tossed the paper carelessly onto the dining room table. "Okay, fine." He nodded in agreement with her, even if he didn't agree. "But apparently, he's breaking into people's houses." He explained, shooting her a rather pointed look. "Do you have any idea of WHY that is?" He then asked curiously.

Spencer shook her head and shrugged lightly. "Maybe he's looking for a place to sleep. Or looking for something to eat." She suggested. "It doesn't matter. All that DOES matter is that I get to him before something REALLY bad happens. To him, OR to someone else."

Jacky nodded, genuinely agreeing with her this time. "I'll see if I can get a hold of those police reports and find the addresses on the break-ins." He slowly rose from his seat, walking through to the living room and towards his open laptop left on top of the coffee table. With the transgenic hot on his heels, he sat down on the couch as she perched on the edge beside him. "They're probably all roughly in the same area. Hopefully, near wherever he's hiding out for now."

Spencer nodded absentmindedly as she watched his quick finger glide over the keys of his laptop. "It should narrow things down, at least." She commented, though, mostly to distract herself from staring at his hands; 'His fucking beautiful hands... Ugh! Focus, Spencer! Joshua is in trouble!' She frowned slightly again, shaking her head to clear herself from her stupor at that last thought.

"I can also boot up my police scanner -- monitor the calls they're getting." Jacky suggested, pausing his work to glance up at her. "If he shows up somewhere else, you may have a better chance of getting to him before the cops do."

Spencer nodded, offering a grateful smile. "Thank you."

Jacky smiled brightly in return. "You know I've always got your back, Spencer." He told her, as if reminding her. Although, he knew of her excellent photographic memory.

Spencer's smile widened slightly. "Yeah, I know." She nodded. "It's just that Joshua is SO not ready to be out there in the real world yet."

Jacky nodded, understanding her deep concern. He had always admired her undying love for her own kind. Even the bad eggs like Jake. And Jacky could never imagine having to give the same kind of love to all of his own kind. He knew what humans were capable of. Things more cruel than these genetically-engineered killing machines were capable of. And simply because humans owned their free will, while the transgenics were subjected to order and violent discipline -- by the ones who had made them in the first place; the humans. It was why he figured he came to love the freaks of nature over the years. More so than his own kind.

Spencer's frown deepened once again. "I'm the one who put him out there." She stated gloomily. "And if something bad DOES happen to him, it'd be MY fault."

"Ah, don't be so hard on yourself, Spencer. You put ME out in the real world. And I am LOVIN' it!"

Spencer's gaze snapped towards the archway leading towards the hallway, her eyes landing on Alec, leaning casually against the archway. Instantly, hour eyes then narrowed into a glare -- made just for him, it seemed.

"Again, I'll ask;" Jacky piped up, staring incredulously at the male transgenic. "Don't you trannys EVER knock?" His brow then arched expectantly.

"What're YOU doing here?" Spencer practically hissed, her glare still fixated on his annoying face. 'God, why am I such a bitch to him? ...Oh, yeah! 'Cause he's a douche.'

Alec smirked slightly to himself, noticing her jaw tightening slowly. He shrugged casually as he sauntered into the living room, towards the couple. "Looking for you, actually." He then sighed, looking rather defeated and slightly glum -- just how Spencer felt right now. "The fact is; I should be with my own kind." He stated in a nocturnal manner. "And I was just wondering if you hooked up with any of the others at all." He said, eyeing her curiously.

Spencer frowned, looking rather curious herself. Though, she was mostly confused. She suddenly had a feeling that he was hiding something. Although, she just didn't know if she cared enough to find out or not. She then voted not, using all of 2 seconds to think it over. "Why?" She scoffed, now looking amused. "You looking to start a transgenic support group?" She chirped with a smirk, clearly taunting him now.

Alec let out a breathy chuckle. "Ah, just bored, really." He replied with another lazy shrug. "Ordinary people are so... Well, ordinary." He then glanced at the Englishman, shooting him a sheepish smile. "No offence, dude."

Jacky merely rolled his eyes, but couldn't help smirking in amusement.

"I'll set up a play-date for you later, Dick." Spencer chirped, smirking smugly when he finally glared back at her. "But right now, we're kind of in the middle of something important here. So, scoot for now." She then shot up, stormed towards him, grabbed him by the scruff of his leather jacket and then proceeded to escort him roughly out of the room.

"Watch the leather!" Alec barked, shrugging her grasp roughly off of him. Then, as he straightened his jacket up, he went to glare up at her, but instead, something caught the corner of his right eye. He swirled around, blurring towards the dining room table.

Spencer glared after him as she watched him lean over the table and pick up the newspaper.

"Whoa." Alec muttered as his eyes widened upon landing on the front page photo. "Hey, Spencer, isn't this your dog-boy pal?" He asked, quirking a brow as he glanced over his shoulder at her.

Spencer merely continued to glare at him in response. 'He knows full, fucking well it's Joshua. Ugh! I really can't stand him.'

Alec shot her a brief, but clearly amused smirk. "Well, looks like he's gotten himself into quite a jam." He commented, eyeing the photo. Maybe he could take Joshua? That was, if he could get to him before Spencer did. Besides, it wasn't as if Way wanted the bodies as proof. He just wanted the barcodes. That's all Alec had to do -- just skin them of their barcodes instead of murdering them. He just hoped that Way's men weren't watching him. Although, he figured that he would have sensed if he was being tailed by now, at least. Alec tossed the newspaper back down onto the table before slowly turning to face the couple again. "So," He chirped, wearing that infamous smart aleck grin. "I guess you're gonna swoop in and save the day again, huh."

"Y'know, I was actually thinking about it." Spencer countered. Her voice was so clearly filled with a bittersweet venom, while in contrast, her expression was rather composed, pleasant, even.

Alec smirked smugly. He knew just how much he infuriated her. And he loved every second of it. She was like the big sister he'd never had. And also kind of never wanted, neither. "Well, then, you're gonna need a hand." He chirped, obviously hinting towards himself. "What'd ya say, Catwoman -- you need a sidekick?" He added with a humorous grin.

Spencer merely rolled her eyes, her arms now folded across her chest.

"She's already got a sidekick." Jacky piped up. "But thanks, anyway." He added with a small smirk.

Alec chuckled at that. "Well, whatever." He shrugged. "But this affects me, too, y'know."

Spencer shot him a "what-the-fuck-ever" expression.

Alec knew that she didn't believe a word that ever came out of his mouth. And as much as he really didn't really give a shit about no one except himself, he still had to admit that he wouldn't want exposure any more than any other one of his kind. "Look, if people catch wind that things like us are really out there, skulking around in the shadows of their world, it's exposure for ALL of us. Today, it's just the stupid tabloids. And then, tomorrow, it's the nightly news and then before we know it, we're fucking global. I understand that, whether you believe me or not."

Spencer stared blankly at him for a few moments, simply letting his words sink into her mind. She then arched a brow, looking slightly impressed. She had to admit, that was, by far, the most convincing this she had ever heard coming out of his stupid face. "Jacky's tracking down a few leads." She finally said.

Alec sighed loudly in relief -- well, mentally, anyway. Even if his words were kind of true, he had still managed to get into her good graces. The first part of his mission; success. Though, he had to admit, he'd thought about just taking Spencer's barcode. Maybe he still would. AFTER they found Joshua, of course. "Great. Anything I can do?" He asked, sounding eager.

Spencer shot him an odd look, then shaking her head before replying. "Well, in the meantime, I thought I'd go check out Terminal City."

Jacky's attention perked up considerably. Though, he didn't look at all pleased. "Spencer, come on." He groaned, shooting her a slightly pleading look.

Spencer rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling slightly in amusement. Sometimes she wondered if he forgot just how indestructible she really was. "It's where I'd go to lay low from Ordinaries." She pointed out with a small shrug.

Jacky frowned deeply, but said nothing. He knew there was never any use in trying to change her mind. Especially when it came to her family.

Alec stared between the couple, looking rather lost and confused now. "Wait - what's Terminal City? Is it an actual city?" He asked, still glancing back and forth for as he waited for one or the other to answer.

Spencer let out a small huff, not really wanting him to tag along. Although, she knew that she could probably do with someone for back-up. However, she had always gotten herself out of most, if not all of her past tricky situations. Breaking out of prison while seizing violently, the guards shooting at her as she somehow miraculously pulled herself up and over the perimeter fence. "Come on," She said, heading towards the archway. "I'll show you."


	41. Chapter 41

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Speaking of immunity -- I noticed that you're boyfriend wasn't sporting his usual exo-get-up today."

\-- BIOHAZARD AHEAD!  
BY ORDER OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE DO NOT ENTER! --

Alec arched a brow as his bright green orbs drifted from the large red sign and over to the run-down-looking, abandoned little town standing before him. The place was literally a wasteland -- litter scattered everywhere, along with large heaps of rubble from the half-fallen buildings surrounding. "So, how do we get in? Jump it?" He asked, quirking a brow over at the female transgenic stood beside him.

Spencer shot him a look of dismay. "Absolutely NOT. It's broad daylight, genius." She pointed out with a scowl.

Alec chuckled lightly. "Relax, gorgeous. I was kidding. Obviously."

"Yeah, well, I never know with YOU." Spencer countered with a small smirk. "Come on, we're going under." She then stepped towards the 20 feet worth of metal net fencing and reached for the loose part that she had used a few times before. Of course, at a few of her low points in her life, she had spent some time in Terminal City, just hiding away from the world. And she wasn't the only one. In this place, you weren't ever far from a homeless Ordinary. She lifted the fencing, curling it slightly and motioned for him to go first.

Alec quickly crouched down and rolled through into the other side, Spencer then following closely behind him. They then began to simply walk slowly around, taking in their surroundings as they wandered around a little bit.

"So," Alec piped up. "What's the deal with this place?" He was merely bored, trying to start a bit of conversation. But he was also curious. In fact, he was always curious. That was always just his nature.

"There used to be a bunch of bio-tech labs out here. And then, when the Pulse hit, all of the power went out." Spencer explained, motioning to the half worn down buildings surrounding them. "And then, a few of them lost containment of whatever the hell it was they had cooked up." She carried on as they continued their slow paces. "And that resulted in some pretty nasty things getting lose."

Alec nodded in acknowledgement. "So, kinda like you and I, huh?" He chirped with a small, but amused smirk.

Spencer merely rolled her eyes at that comment, but couldn't help smirking slightly, too. "The city couldn't afford to clean up the mess. So they just sealed off the area instead." She went on to explain. "Nobody comes out here unless they've got nowhere else to go and nothing else to lose."

Alec nodded again. "Well, then, we're lucky that Monticora made us all immune to your common bio-warfare agents." He noted with an all too cocky grin.

Again, Spencer smirked. She did have to admit, she was grateful that she could never be affected by human disease.

"Oh, hey," Alec chirped. "Speaking of immunity -- I noticed that you're boyfriend wasn't sporting his usual exo-get-up today." He noted, looking very interested. "You been sneaking him some of those good ol' transgenic stem cells?" He asked, wearing an all too knowing grin.

Spencer rolled her eyes and then let out a small, but clearly irritated huff before stalking off in front of him.

Alec stared after her, still grinning slightly. "I was just asking. Jeez... I don't know why you always gotta be so sensitive about everything..."

...In the last couple of days, Hetfield had been doing some very deep digging into the past of Monticora -- before he'd ever even known it had existed. He had been chasing a few leads down and now, it seemed that finally he had caught something worth checking out especially. And that's exactly what he did -- driving himself down to the shut-down demolition site on the south borders of Seattle.

Hetfield didn't know what he to expect, what he would find. All he knew was that it was something worth seeing for himself. Even if it meant risking his life by doing so. But he was a curious creature, Hetfield. Always had been. The way he saw it; he had a mission to complete. And he wasn't going to rest peacefully until said mission was accomplished. Even if it took him to his very last breath.

\-- R.C.F. ENVIROMENT ALL CLEAN-UP AND DISPOSAL! --

Hetfield glanced briefly up at the large sign hanging across the metal fencing, his gaze then drifting over to the vacant, dusty building site. He then reached into his pocket, pulling out Williams' I.D. badge. Thankfully, the badge was without photo, instead just her name and code number and it also held the same logo as the sign in front of him now. Walking over to the electronic lock, he swiped the card through, smirking triumphantly when the gate slowly opened for him. He stepped onto the dusty site, shoving the badge back into his pocket and pulling out his handgun instead. Quickly, he checked one last time that his weapon was loaded before then making his way towards the large building.

Inside the building was very dimly lit by small lamps scattered around and nearly all of the interior was decorated by large amounts of scaff-holding. With his gun held up in front of him, Hetfield took his time, his steps slow, careful and most importantly, silent.

Hetfield wandered around for a few more minutes, finally descending a large staircase, leading down to a large catwalk. He paused halfway then when he spotted a man sitting on a wooden stool, reading a newspaper. He frowned, noticing the low security around the place -- this having been the first guard he'd ran into. He then made his way down the last few steps, sauntering casually over to the guard.

The guard finally seemed to sense that he was no longer alone, his eyes then snapping up to meet the intruder's. His eyes instantly widened as immediately rose to his feet, tossing the newspaper aside. "What the fuck!? How'd you get in here!?" He roared as he reached for the small handheld radio clipped to his belt.

Hetfield shot the guard an 'are you serious?' expression before responding. "Really?" He asked, looking less than impressed. "The security around here is despicable." He grunted before smacking the butt of his gun into the side of the younger man's head.

The guard quickly sank to the dirt floor in an unconscious heap of limbs, dropping both his radio and his small flashlight in the process.

Hetfield quickly put his piece away and grabbed up the flashlight before taking a little look around. He noticed right away that he was in the basement of the building, the floor covered in dirt and dry soil. He wandered around a little bit, but it didn't take him long to finally find what he had come here for. At least, he thought this was what he had come here for.

Hetfield frowned slightly, looking somewhere between confused and disturbed. Slowly, he drew closer to the piles of rubble scattered everywhere. Shining the flashlight upon his findings, he discovered some sort of digging site. He edged closer, spotting something along the back stone wall. He shone the light upon it, his gaze landing on a carved out image of the Monticora creature; head of a lion, body of a goat creature; the same iconic image that Monticora had always used as their logo...

...Meanwhile, back in Terminal City, Spencer and Alec had been wandering around for the last hour. They had checked inside a few of the buildings, too. But still, no sign of Joshua whatsoever. And now, while Alec was still secretly counting down the seconds until his head exploded, Spencer was only growing more and more worried for her canine friend. Then, after a few more minutes of walking aimlessly around, the two transgenics finally stumbled across civilisation -- in the form a small group of homeless men, all crowded around a small bomb fire inside a metal trashcan.

The men all noticed the unfamiliar faces, all perking up considerably, but only one spoke out -- the one with the small Yorkshire Terrier tucked under his right arm. "Hey, there." He chirped with a rather cheerful smile. "You two lost?" He asked, then eyeing them both curiously.

"Nope." Alec chirped back, keeping his tone pleasant in return. "We're actually looking for someone." He explained as he and Spencer both stood in front of the curious men. "Maybe you've seen him around?" He reached into his pocket, pulling out a 20 dollar bill.

Spencer rolled her eyes, but managed to keep her mouth shut. Sure, it was nice that he was giving a homeless person his money, but it annoyed her, that he thought he could simply buy everything or do whatever he wanted and never have to face the music. It was also because she was a little jealous -- sometimes, she wished she could just go back to that, when all she had to care about was herself. But then again, she simply couldn't imagine life without Jacky or Gabby or any of her other friends. And she didn't want to, either.

"Well, what'd they look like?" The man asked, still sounding curious rather than being interested with the money.

Spencer smiled slightly at that before speaking up instead of 'Dick' this time. "He's, um, he's really, really tall..." The truth was, she really didn't know how to describe Joshua without freaking them out. "He wears a large, green Army jacket with a gray hoodie underneath... He's, um... He's kind of..."

Alec decided to step in and save her. "He's kinda hairy..." He stated all too casually. "Makes a lot of growling noises... Maybe some barking..."

Spencer instantly glared over at him.

"What?" Alec mouthed silently, shooting her an all too innocent look.

Spencer's jaw tightened as she ignored him, instead of simply giving into her strong urge to punch him in the face. Repeatedly.

As if on cue with Alec's words, the small canine under the homeless man's arm let out a couple of small, but adorable barks.

Alec smirked. "Yeah. Kinda like THAT." He said, referring back to the last part of his rather quirky description of the dog-man.

The man's eyes seemed to light up in excitement then. "I ain't heard no growling or nothing. But I DID see a lizard guy the other."

Spencer and Alec glanced at one another briefly. They were both surprised with how blunt and casual the man seemed about his apparent encounter.

"Remember, Bill?" The man asked, turning to the man to his left. "I told you about it last night."

Bill rolled his eyes, clearly disbelieving. "Good Lord, man, you were drunk." He stated pointedly with a shake of his head.

The man shot his so-called friend a brief glare, turning to face the visitors again. "Maybe he's a friend of yours, too?" He asked, mainly glancing at the woman. She seemed to be the most level-headed out of the couple.

"No. But we wouldn't mind talking to him." Spencer replied with a pleasant smile.

The man nodded eagerly as he smiled brightly at the beautiful woman in return. Truly, the face of an angel. If he believed in such things. "You could check the sewer. I saw him going down there a few days ago." He explained. "And he was with his panther lady friend."

Spencer arched a brow, clearly astounded. "Thanks for your help."


	42. Chapter 42

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Did your cyborg-boyfriend finally get a lead on dog-boy?"

"Well," Alec piped up into the silence. "THIS is -- hands down -- THEE most disgusting sewer that I have ever been in... God, it stinks to high fucking heaven down here." He grumbled as he glanced around his surroundings with a look of disgust.

The lighting condition was poor, next to non-existent, but Spencer could thankfully see perfectly. She wandered further down the chamber, walking across the small concrete sidewalk to avoid the waste-filled stream running through the middle. "Wait -- what's that?" She asked, more to herself. She crept slowly closer to the small carcass washed up on the sidewalk and screwed her face up in disgust when she got a better look. "Ugh. It was a dog."

"Looks like something BIG got to it." Alec noted as he glanced down at the hollow corpse.

"Yeah." Spencer agreed. "But NOT Joshua." She added with conviction.

Alec arched a brow, looking rather intrigued. He sometimes wondered whether all that time she had spent out in the real world had caused her to forget what transgenics were really capable of. "What -- you don't think he'd turn on his own kind?" He asked, motioning towards the dead canine and wearing a humorous smirk.

Spencer simply glared back at him. "No. I KNOW that he's NOT a cold-blooded killer." She barked, now scowling slightly. If ever, Joshua was the most gentle soul she had ever met; a gentle giant. He was also a little odd, but very sweet, nonetheless.

Alec held up both his hands in defence. "I was just kidding out. Chill out." He told her. "Why're you always so up-tight?" He then asked, arching a brow once again and looking genuinely curious.

Spencer's glare darkened slightly and she was about to answer. However, her train of thought was suddenly interrupted when she felt her cellphone vibrating against her left butt cheek. She let out a small, but frustrated huff before reaching into her back pocket. She arched a brow, seeing the amount of bars on the small screen. "It's Jacky." She stated. "Huh. I'm amazed I've still got a signal. This thing's a piece of crap."

"A BlackBerry? Really?" Alec did not look impressed. "It's ALL about smart phones now. ALL about the touch screens." He chirped, reaching into his jacket pocket and pulling out his own HTC -- the latest model, too. "Come into the 21st century already, will you?" He then shook his head, smirking in amusement as he passed the phone to her.

As always, Jacky let the phone ring three times before hanging up and waiting for a return call. So as Spencer took the phone from him, Jacky's calling had finally ceased. Spencer then quickly dialled his number (knowing it by heart, of course) and waited patiently for him to pick up on the third ring, as he always did.

"Hello?"

"Jacky, hey, it's me. This is Alec's number." Spencer explained quickly and simply. "What's up? Did you find out anything?" She asked, getting straight down to business.

"Yeah. I just hung up with my police contact. You remember Ficarro, right?"

"Of course." Spencer smiled.

"Yeah, well, he managed to find the address of Joshua's last break-in for me. That beautiful, little bastard is bloody good at his job, I tell you."

Spencer chuckled lightly, mostly at how much his British accent stood out when he said things like that. "Okay, good. Where is it?"

"Sector 6 -- 475 McCallister. The name on the property is Sandeman."

Spencer frowned slightly, her mind briefly flashing back to when she had first met Joshua...

"...Father... Sandman... He made us... He made us ALL..."

...Spencer's mind then briefly flashed back to the night Williams had died in her arms -- just as she had promised the redhead she would in the end...

"...Sandeman... Find... Sandeman..."

...Spencer ignored Alec, who was shooting her a questioning look. There was no doubt in her mind that he was ear-wigging anyway.

"Does that name mean anything to you?" Jacky finally asked, noticing her pause.

"Kinda." Spencer replied. "Joshua mentioned him. He called him Father, though... I just... I gotta feeling that he may be the one who founded Monticora or something just as big."

"Well, if that's true, then why the hell would he turn Joshua away and report him to the police?" Jacky asked, sounding rather angered by the notion.

Spencer, too, felt rather pissed off. But still, she didn't know all of the facts. But she would certainly find the fuck out before the night was through. "Hmm." She hummed sarcastically. "I think I'll go find him and ask." She chirped with a bittersweet tone.

Jacky chuckled lightly. "Just be careful." He told her, his voice a little softer now.

Spencer smiled to herself. "I always am." She chirped before finally hanging up. "Thanks." She mumbled, handing the phone back.

Alec sent her a curt nod as he shoved the phone back into his jacket pocket. "So," He arched an expectant brow. "Did your cyborg-boyfriend finally get a lead on dog-boy?" He chirped lightly.

Spencer fought the urge to glare at him again. "Sorta. Yeah." She muttered before marching further on.

"Hey, uh," Alec piped up, causing her to pause and turn to face him. "You go ahead that way. I'll take the left chamber. We can cover more ground if we split up." He explained.

Spencer simply nodded, agreeing with that idea. It WOULD be less time consuming. "Right. Hit me up if you find anything."

Alec simply nodded. "You got it, gorgeous."


	43. Chapter 43

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You got any kids?" Spencer asked all too casually, arching another brow. "Any little, mutant kids hidden away anywhere?"

In their apartment, David was sitting on the living room couch with a comforting arm around his girlfriend; Amelia's shoulder's. Last night, that beast -- whatever the hell it was -- had burst into their apartment while they were in the middle of having sex. So early this morning, liked he had promised her, they had went out first this and bought a large new dead-bolt lock for their front door.

"There ya go, honey." David whispered comforting words into her ear as she still shook slightly in his embrace. "You're safe and sound now." He told her, shooting her reassuring looks every now and then. "Ain't nobody gonna be able to get through this time."

As if on cue with his words, the front door suddenly burst open once again, causing the couple to jump in fright. Then, in the next moments, a small, but stunning brunette stormed into their apartment. Her eyes landed on the couple before she marched over and grabbed the man up from his seat by the throat.

Amelia let out a loud squeal as she cowered back into her own seat on the couch. Her eyes widened in fear as she watched the younger woman pull her boyfriend up like a small rag doll.

Spencer simply ignored the woman as her eyes narrowed at the man standing in front of her now. "Your name Sandeman?" She asked, her voice calm, but firm.

"W-what?" David stuttered, his own eyes widened in both fear and shock.

Spencer gave him a quick once over, her brow arching slightly. This man hadn't been what she'd expected to find. To say that she was less than impressed would be an understatement, to say the very least. This man was a lot younger than she would have thought Sandeman would have been by now. Well, if he was truly the one who created Monticora, anyway. And this man wasn't all that bad looking, but he certainly didn't look like much more than... Well, an Ordinary. "Huh. You don't LOOK like any Father of my country." She noted, though, mostly to herself.

The man simply stared up at her with his widened eyes. His girlfriend looked a little less panicked now, too. At least it hadn't been the dog-man beast coming back to finish them off. Apart from her incredible strength, this brunette stunner didn't seem all too bad. Compared to last night's events, anyway.

"The name 'Monticora' mean anything to you?" Spencer asked him, arching an expectant brow.

"Honestly, lady, I don't know what you're talking about." David replied, managing to calm himself down a little now. Though, her grip on his throat wasn't all that comfortable. But at least he could still breath.

"You got any kids?" Spencer asked all too casually, arching another brow. "Any little, mutant kids hidden away anywhere?"

"W-what?" David stuttered once more. Though, he looked somewhere between confused and slightly horrified.

Spencer let out a small sigh, looking slightly defeated. She was starting to feel like this man didn't know a thing at all about what she was asking. "So, you DON'T know anything about genetic enhancement?" She asked, sounding almost hopeful now.

David looked completely bewildered, but managed to shake his head in response.

"Um, well," Amelia finally spoke up, her voice quiet and timid. "He bought me THESE." She said, motioning to her rather large breasts that were practically spilling out of her tank top.

Spencer glanced from the woman, back to the man, who shot her a sheepish smile. She then let out a loud, frustrated. And then, finally letting him go, she stormed back out of the apartment...

...Meanwhile, Alec was still wandering aimlessly around, down in the sewers. As he turned and entered another chamber, he glanced briefly down at his wristwatch. His eyes widened slightly when he saw that it was only 1:30:P.M., which meant that he only had roughly 12 hours left until his head exploded.

"Bongo! Where are you, boy?"

Alec paused upon hearing the familiar voice of the homeless guy that he and Spencer had spoken to. He glanced up to the only source of light, a small barred window, just about level with his head. He rolled his eyes before then carrying on and when he rounded the next corner, he stopped abruptly once again. His eyes widened in both disgust and shock as his gaze settled on a woman-figured creature holding the Yorkshire Terrier; Bongo, who was yapping loudly, obviously terrified.

Her entire body was covered with short, jet black fur. Her bright yellow eyes held the usual diamond-shaped, cat-like pupils. Her mouth open wide, baring her razor-sharp fangs as she held the dog up to her lips, about to take her first bite.

"Ugh. You're NOT seriously gonna eat THAT, are you?" Alec asked, announcing his presence.

The panther-woman swirled around, her eyes narrowing at her intruder. She let out a loud hiss, clearly warning him to stay back.

Alec let out a throaty chuckle. "Come on, sister, have a LITTLE dignity." He told her, shaking his head in dismay as he shot the dog another look of disgust.

The panther-woman slowly bent down, letting the dog back down, who then ran behind Alec. As she slowly stood straight, she now eyed the other transgenic hungrily.

Alec smirked cockily. "Yeah. That's right, sweetheart -- the dinner bell's a-chiming." He taunted, slowly crouching for combat. "Come and get it, kitty."

The panther-woman let out a low hiss before slowly beginning to approach her new prey.

Alec, however, had other ideas. As soon as she drew close enough, he sent a kick to her naked stomach just as she went to slash her razor-sharp claws his way. And when she went to get up, he kicked her back down again.

The panther-woman growled loudly before pouncing up at him instead. Her claws latched into his shoulders, piercing easily through his leather jacket and into his flesh. She then raised her head, her mouth wide open and ready to bite.

"Ow! You bitch!" Alec roared. He WAS going to be easy on her, but he was getting angry now. He then ran towards the nearest wall, slamming her into it as hard as he possibly could.

The panther-woman howled loudly in pain before sinking to the floor. Although, she was determined. She hadn't eaten for days now. She quickly pounced back up at him, trying to latch onto him again.

Alec shrugged her off easily this time, predicting her attack. He then quickly reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out the knife that Way had given him. He hesitated, though, only until she went to attack him once again. This time, he blurred behind her, smothering his free hand over her mouth. He then raised the blade, slicing her through with one deep, but clean cut.

The panther-woman growled into his hand, her entire body going ridged for a few moments before then finally sagging altogether.

"Bongo! Bongo, come on, boy!"

"Oh, shut up already!" Alec yelled angrily as he tossed the corpse carelessly to the floor. His gaze then snapped over to Bongo, who was whimpering quietly a few feet away. With a loud, defeated sigh, Alec walked over to the dog. "Come here, idiot." He grumbled. He picked the small canine up and walked over to the small barred window before proceeding to shove Bongo through -- and thankfully, he fit perfectly.

"Oh! Bongo! There you are!"

Alec rolled his eyes before stalking back towards his first 'purchase' -- as Way had dubbed it. With the knife still in his hand, he felt himself hesitating again as he knelt down beside the furry corpse. However, what did he have to lose now? She was dead already, he had killed her, one of his own. And with that thought, he finally rolled her over, his eyes glued to the white barcode on the back of her neck before then raising the blade and getting to work on collecting his proof.


	44. Chapter 44

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Yeah -- Joshua's STILL out there and he needs my help." Spencer said, still looking concerned for her canine friend.

After getting nowhere with the first address, AND after not hearing anything from Alec in the last hour and a half, Spencer made her way back to Ryan and Jacky's apartment. When she arrived, Jacky was in Ryan's office, sitting beside the police scanner, the voices buzzing through the loud static every now and then.

"So, if this guy; Sandeman was the one who founded Monticora, then how come you never knew about him?" Jacky asked, looking somewhere between intrigued and utterly confused.

Spencer shrugged lazily. "Well, it's not like there was a statue of him out in the quad or anything. And besides, I never even heard of the guy until Joshua and then Williams mentioned him." She explained. "Williams spluttered some crap about me being the one They'd be looking for." She added, clearly less than disinterested.

Jacky frowned slightly. "Hmm. I wonder if that's what Hetfield was talking about." He pondered quietly to himself.

Spencer shot him a confused look. Short from that one message he'd given her through Jacky, over the phone, Spencer hadn't seen or even heard from Hetfield since the night she had died.

"Oh, yeah -- he called me again last night." Jacky informed quickly, earning a nod of acknowledgement. "He said something about your D.N.A. being different; unusual."

Spencer rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She muttered. She could care less about anything else. All she wanted was to find Joshua, safe and sound.

Jacky arched a brow up at her. She seemed very disinterested and he wondered why. Surely, she would be all over something like this. Especially if it was to do with one of her siblings or herself. Which, in this case, it was the latter. "But it's not just 'whatever', Spencer." He said, looking slightly concerned now. "There's SOMETHING going on here." He speculated, his blue orbs narrowing slightly.

"Yeah -- Joshua's STILL out there and he needs my help." Spencer said, still looking concerned for her canine friend.

Jacky sighed in defeat, but nodded in agreement. He knew there was no changing her mind. And he also did want to get this guy off of the streets before something bad really happened. So he figured that he'd deal with one problem at a time. Like Spencer always did -- and it really seemed to always work for her.

"What about the other addresses? Did you manage to get 'em?" Spencer asked, looking rather hopefully at him.

Jacky nodded. "Yeah. And none of them add up. None of them are under the name of Sandeman." He explained with a rather glum expression. He reached down to the printer, snatching up the newly printed list of addresses and handing it over to her.

Spencer glanced at the names on the list, frowning in confusion. "It doesn't make any sense."

"Plus, the addresses are scattered all over the city. No pattern at all." Jacky explained, letting out a tired, frustrated huff.

Spencer nodded in acknowledgement, her gaze then drifting over to the door numbers.

\-- 754, 745, 574, 547, 475, 457... --

"Wait a second," Spencer muttered to herself. Her confused expression only deepened as she read the numbers over again. Just to make sure she wasn't just seeing things.

"What is it?" Jacky asked, noticing her expression.

"The door numbers," Spencer glanced over at him. "The numbers are my numbers."

"Your barcode?" Jacky asked, looking slightly confused, too.

Spencer nodded. "Look." She told him, handing the list back to him. "They're all in a different order, but the numbers are all the same."

Jacky's eyes widened slightly. How hadn't he noticed that? "He's trying to find YOU, not Sandeman."

Spencer nodded. "But we've still got nothing. Even with the addresses." She pointed out with a glum expression of her own. "Guess I could just go wander the city until I run into him."

Jacky frowned, looking displeased by the idea. "That could takes days, weeks, even."

Spencer sighed loudly in defeat and nodded in agreement. "Yeah... So, we've got nothing, then."

Jacky sighed lightly, but nodded in response.

Spencer absentmindedly glanced towards the wall behind him, finally noticing the empty spot where a small painting used to hang. "Ugh. PLEASE, don't tell me that you sold your Hockney to pay that lab tech creep." She turned her gaze back to him, arching an expectant brow.

Jacky smiled sheepishly and nodded. "Yeah."

Spencer frowned slightly. "Your grandmother left that to you." She reminded softly, looking slightly disappointed now.

Jacky nodded, his expression now similar to hers. "Well, considering," He motioned towards his legs. "It's a small price to pay."

Spencer was still annoyed and kind of upset, but she had to admit that he was right. To have Jacky walking around again -- without the help of her revved up stem cells or even the help of the exo-skeleton left to him by good, ol', crazy Phil -- WAS a lot more important than some painting. Even if it wasn't just some painting.

"So, the creep called this morning." Jacky piped up. "I dropped off both our blood samples to him last night and he analysed them and said that he can probably work something -- have me walking around by Friday." He explained, his tone calm, but a wide and excited grin slapped across his face.

Spencer's eyes widened, her own dark orbs lighting up. "Are you fricking serious!?" She practically squealed, while wearing the largest grin.

Jacky chuckled and nodded. "I sure am."

"That's awesome!" Spencer said, still smiling to herself.

"It REALLY is." Jacky agreed with another chuckle. He then reached for the small drawer under Ryan's desk, pulling out a large envelope filled with cash. "25 grand. He gets the first half before -- as a good gesture of faith. And then, he gets the second half AFTER I'm up on my feet." He explained with a smirk. "He wants YOU to deliver the deposit tomorrow morning; 9:30." He added with a grin as he held the envelope out to her.

Spencer rolled her eyes, but couldn't help continue smiling happily as she snatched the cash from him. "Well, whether he comes through on this or not -- I'M kicking in for the second half."

Jacky smiled gratefully, but waved a hand of dismissal. "No, it's okay." He told her. "It's MY problem."

"Which you wouldn't have in the first place, if it weren't for my selfish ass." Spencer countered, wearing a small scowl. "I want this for you, too, y'know?" She mumbled softly.

Jacky stared up at her for a few moments, simply thanking whoever was sitting up on the clouds for having let him meet such an incredible woman. He smiled, looking somewhat defeated as he finally nodded. "Get it to me whenever you can."

Spencer smiled and nodded. "I'll have it by Friday."

Jacky chuckled lightly just as the police scanner let off a loud buzz of static. He quickly swirled back around in his chair, reaching for the scanner and turning up the volume.

"...Says he has a crazed dog cornered in his garage... No, wait -- make that a guy... No, a dog... What the hell!?"

"What the heck are you babbling on about? Where are you? We're coming over to check it out."

"4527, Whitney..."

Jacky frowned deeply in concern as he listened. "Do you think that's --" He turned to face Spencer, only to find that the transgenic had already disappeared. He then frowned to himself again, only this time, he looked slightly irritated. "I forgot how annoying that is."


	45. Chapter 45

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 'At least I don't have to kill you, kid. You're lucky...'

"One move and I'll blow your fucking head off!"

Crouching behind an old Harley Davidson, Joshua let out a few low growls at the man who had a shotgun aimed at his head.

"What's going on here?"

The man briefly glanced over at the couple of police officers as they entered his garage.

"What the hell is THAT!?" The first officer asked. His eyes widened as he reached for his handgun on his belt.

"Don't ask ME!" The man screeched. "I just found it here in my garage!"

The second officer followed his actions, quickly grabbing his own handgun and aiming it at... Well, whatever the hell this creature really was.

"M-maybe you should have called Animal Control." The first officer stuttered slightly when the creature let out a few more threatening growls.

"Stay back! I'm warning you!" The second officer snapped, trying to sound intimidating, but failing miserably...

...Spencer didn't waste another second. As soon as he keen hearing picked up on loud, frightened voices and low, dog-like growling, she pushed her Ninja as fast as possible. She listened closely as she sped down the street and swerved dramatically into the second driveway to the left of the road. As Spencer barged through the large wooden doors, she spotted the officers first. As they raised their guns towards her, Spencer quickly sped forward, ramming her motorcycle into them both -- just hard enough to knock them both out.

The man slowly lowered his gun, his jaw slack and his eyes widened in both terror and amazement.

Spencer killed the Ninja's engine and hopped off. She glanced towards the man, who was still staring wide-eyed at her. She then took a threatening step towards him, her dark orbs narrowing for emphasis.

As predicted, the man jumped back in fright, his weapon clattering to the floor. He glanced briefly between the shotgun at his feet and then towards the stunning (but fucking scary) brunette before darting out of the garage altogether.

Spencer smirked to herself before turning back to the Harley, only to find that Joshua had disappeared amongst all of the commotion...

...As Alec sauntered down the streets of Seattle, he glanced down at the flap of black, furry skin with the white barcode of the panther-woman. He grabbed the small notebook from his jacket pocket, opening to the first page before placing the barcode inside and closing it up again. He then shoved the notebook safely back into his jacket pocket and smiled to himself. "One down, two to go." He noted to himself. And although he only had just over 8 hours to retrieve the other two -- after having one finally in his possession, he was now hopeful. He could do this. He could. He just had to work quickly. And under pressure. Which he was used to do. It was one of the many things that Monticora had made him most skilled with. Alec checked his watched once again, just to confirm how many minutes had just passed before continuing with his pace. He stopped abruptly at the next alleyway, his bright, hazel-green orbs spotting a young transgenic -- still wearing the Monticora uniform -- huddled against a wall with a thin blanket wrapped around him. He glanced up at the kid's face, recognising as one of the younger X-5s that had been in his unit.

899 finally noticed the man standing at the end of the alleyway, staring at him. He glanced over at the man, zooming in on his face. His own blue orbs then widened as a look of recognition dawned on his pale, but still flawless face. "Sir!" He yelped, quickly pulling himself up onto his feet and abandoning the rather useless blanket in the process. "Are we remobilizing?" He asked, blurring over to the older transgenic.

Alec glared at the younger X-5. "Hey, hey! You can't do any of that quick running out here in the open. We're in enemy territory." He snapped, shooting the youngster a pointed look. He didn't really know how else to put it for the soldier to understand, so saying that they were in 'enemy territory' was the best thing to say, to get it through to the idiot's head. And it wasn't as if it wasn't entirely untrue...

899 glanced warily around before nodding. "Sorry, sir." He said, his voice now considerably lower.

Alec sighed, feeling slightly bad for the kid. But not as bad as he would feel if his head exploded. No matter how quick it would be. "Follow me." He muttered, glancing briefly at the few people walking up and down the street. "And DON'T make a big deal out of it." He added before sauntering off, continuing down the sidewalk.

899 quickly followed after him, walking beside the older transgenic.

"So, where's the rest of your squad?" Alec asked, arching an expectant brow.

"We got separated when the fire broke out." 899 explained sadly. "Then, I saw the signal -- the one that told us to scatter and go to ground. So, that's what I did."

"So, you're alone?" Alec asked, frowning slightly. He still felt bad for the kid, but now he was also pissed that he wouldn't be getting barcode number three with the help of barcode number two.

899 sighed quietly, his expression deeply gloomy. He nodded. "Yes, sir."

Alec nodded to himself and then waited for the next alleyway to come up before shoving the younger transgenic roughly into it.

"What're you doing!?" 899 squealed, his eyes widened in alarm.

Alec didn't waste another second -- he blurred over, appearing behind the younger transgenic. He then grabbed the kid in a choke-hold, putting just enough pressure on his windpipe.

After at least 6 minutes, 899 finally stopped struggling, his body then slumping altogether.

Alec let out a tired sigh as he carefully lowered the younger X-5 to the ground. He reached into his pocket, pulling out the knife Way had given him once again. He then reached down, rolling the kid onto his front. And this time, he thought; 'At least I don't have to kill you, kid. You're lucky...'

...Later that night, Hetfield was sat in his S.U.V., parked up in the middle of an old, abandoned warehouse with the engine off. He sat in the driver's seat with a few prints scattered over his lap as well as the passenger's seat. Most of the prints were photographs of what looked like a burial site, some of the other prints holding paragraphs of writing as well. In his other hand was his cellphone, pressed to his right ear. "So, what am I looking at here?" He asked, picking up one of the photos at random.

"A Kiloma Indian burial site. Probably from the early 1800s. But these photos... They're just like in the stories."

Hetfield frowned slightly, feeling a little lost now. He was beginning to think that he didn't really know Monticora at all. "Stories?" He asked, urging for a little elaboration.

"Legend has it that a group of white fur traders kidnapped a young girl from the Kiloma tribe. They then forced her to carry and birth a child for Them."

Hetfield's frown deepened. He felt slightly sickened by that. Even though the woman that carried his kids to term were paid and treated exceptionally well -- not to mention that they had the chosen to do so. "With who?"

"A boy that They had with Them. He was only 14 years old. But he was described as being over 6 feet tall. And the baby... Well, it was stillborn and also terribly deformed..."

Hetfield glanced through the photographs as the man continued to speak. Most of them were as the man was describing; images of small, human skeletons.

"They then forced her to have another, nevertheless. And again, it was the same outcome. But They weren't satisfied until the third child was born. Fortunately, that child lived. They then took the child away from her as soon as it was born and then --"

"-- They killed the mother." Hetfield grunted, shaking his head as he tossed the last photo back to the vacant passenger's seat.

"Yes..."

"Why was the child so important?" Hetfield asked, now terribly intrigued with all of the fuss over one little human.

"I'm sorry, I don't know. I always assumed that it was just a story."

"What about the last photo -- the one with the painting on the wall?" Hetfield asked, referring to the symbol of the Monticora creature.

"Well, it's not a Kiloma design. I've never seen anything like it. Other than in Greek mythology, of course."

Hetfield almost snorted out loud. "I have." He muttered through gritted teeth.

"I might be able to tell you more if I can see the original photos."

Hetfield let out a tired sigh before replying. "I'll bring them to you tonight."


End file.
